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SELECT  SPEECHES 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  M.P 

i 
EDITED,   WITH   HISTORICAL  NOTICES.  ETC, 

BY  HIS  SON, 

JOHN  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.       ' 

ill    Ctou    Volume*. 
VOL.  I. 


DUBLIN: 

JAMES   DUJFFY,   WELLINGTON  QUAY, 

AHD 

254  PATEBNOSTEE  ROW,  LONDON. 
1871. 


P  BEF ACE 


It  being  the  intention  of  Mr.  JAMES  DUFFY,  the  Publisher 
of  this  Volume,  to  bring  out,  at  no  very  distant  period,  a 
"  LIFE  OF  DANIEL  O'CoNNKLL,"*  written  in  full  detail 
and  with  every  advantage  of  access  to  family  documents, 
correspondences,  &c.,  &c«,  it  is  not  thought  necessary  to 
preface  or  accompany  the  present  Selection,  frem  his 
Speeches  with  any  biographical  sketch  or  detailed  narrative. 
This  Publication  will  therefore  comprise  nothing  beyond 
the  Selection  just  mentioned,  and  a  brief  statement  of  such 
facts  and  dates  as  may  appear  indispensable. 


Bj  Mrs.  Fttz*nwn,  uia  fildwt  daughter. 


CON 


Memoir     » .  .  '*M» 

Catholic  Committee,  January,  1808      .  '      ,? 

Aggregate  Meeting,  September,  1810         .  15 

-  Petition  for  Catholic  Emancipation      .  9£ 

The  French  Party,  December,  1810 

Catholic  Rights,  February,  1811       V?«    < 

Unanimity,  February,  181  i 

Address  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  March,  1811  40 

The  Duke  of  Richmond 
Petition  to  the  Prince  Regent,  April,  1811 ' 

Watty  Cox— Libel       .  .  .  ?° 

Vote  of  Thanks  to  Earl  Grey  and  Lord  Grenvffle 
Mr.  Verner  Moore      ^          ..?  , 
The  Regent's  Pledges 
Catholic  Emancipation,  2nd  July,  1812 
The  No-Popery  Cry  . 

The  Citizens  of  Dublin  v.  Police  Magistrates  105 

Aggregate  Meeting,  5th  November,  1812 

John  Philpot  Curraa  .  \ 

Taaffe  a.  Chief  Justice  of  Queen's  Bench 

Vote  of  Censure          .  124 

.  Catholic  Ascendancy 
Hugh  Fitzpatrick— Libel 
The  English  Catholics 
Catholic  Relief  Bill      . 
Reply  to  Mr.  Bellew 
Emancipation— the  Regert's  Pledge 

Kight  Rev.  Dr.  Milner  *    18° 

Doctor  Milner 


V!  C01CTENTS. 

FAC* 

The  Princess  of  Wales         .  *  •  •  208 

Repeal  of  the  Union  •   •£  •  •  •  •    214 

The  King  v,  John  Magee   .«..         f.f  i  «  223 

Henry  Grattan  .  »    233 

Iriah  Manufacture  .  .  «  • 

Address  to  Henry  Grattan  .  .  •  .236 

The  Synod  of  Ulster  .  .  .  .' 

Trial  of  John  Magee  .  .  .  •    24° 

Cork  Catholic  Meeting,  August  SO,  1813  .  .  304 

Meeting  of  the  Cork  Catholic  Board,  Sept.  3,1813    .  •    319 

Lieutenant  O'Connell 

The  Kilkenny  Resolution— Trial  of  John  Magee         .  . 

The  Veto  Question  .  •  • 

Reply  to  Mr.  Richard  Lalor  Shiel 

Mr.  Finlay's  Address  .  \» 

Catholic  Board,  December  24, 1813 

The  King  at  the  Prosecution  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond  0.  Magee    378 

Presentation  Cup  to  Mr.  (yOonneli     . 

Illegal  Societies  .  .  •  ,    '  .    302 

Address  to  the  People  .  .  •  '•&•  •• 

Catholic  Board,  January  8  •  •  • 

Catholic  "  Securities"  • 

Baron   Fletcher's  Charge  to  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  County 

Wexford  .  •  »  •  .431 

Meeting  at  Lord  FingaTs     •  • 

The  Catholic  Association  *  •  *5S 


SELECT  SPEECHES 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P. 


Driven  from  the  latter  place  and  from  the  Continent  by  the  atrocities  of  the  IVench 
rOOCh  °f  ™'  Mn  °'ConneU  <*enfc  th«  »«t  two  or  three 
*'  Barj  tOWhkh  ^  ™  -°^  called  in  the  sadly 


lde  sta^h"*»trong  reasons  for  avoid- 

,  In  his  Profes«lon.  ™to"  willing  to  be  the 

parasite  and  slave  of  the  Government  ;  and  it  was  not  even  safe,  in  Ireland  at  least  for 
Protestant  or  Catholic,  but  especially  for  the  latter,  to  be  found  h  opposilZ 

For  th,*e  and  other  reasons  the  leading  members  of  Mr.  O'ConnelTs  family  and  circle  of 
2S  ^^,7^  indispo^d  to  his  putting  himself  forward  in  any  public  struggle! 
and  he  was  himself  of  course  fully  aware  of  the  disadvantages  and  dangers  he  must  bwff 

Lnr,t^  Z  Z*?*  COUld  D0t  ta  8llCnt  When  he  MW  the  ^Si'lative  iifdcpendence  of  h" 
country  about  to  be  annihilated,  and  when  it  had  become  dear  that  the  minister  ^ugb! 
to  imphcate  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  in  his  crime.  Overtures  had  already  been  maTe  te 

£L»?i  t080me°/theirn0mlnal  ^^  and  ™«»  -Id  that  they  had  not  beruni 
rourably  received  ;  timidity,  credulity,  or  corruption  jointly  or  separa4lv  operating  top* 

^^asCIrish         h  T  "I1"*864  b6  a  d°Ubt  tbat  the  great  bulk  of  th<  SS£ 
at  as  Irishmen  should  on  this  occasion,  and  abhorred  the  idea  of  the  Union  ;  but 

were  entirely  unaccustomed  to  acting  in  concert,  or  coming  forward  in  their  aggre, 
Mite  character.  •  Some  one  was  wanted  to  .show  them  the  war.    Their  "natural  leader? 
•  °r  Were  tod!liea  to  ac(l«iescence  in  the  proposed  measure 
th    g°°d  repute  and  ^^pendence  of  the  Catholic  body 
when  just  at  the  critical  moment  Daniel  O'ConneU 


tM8  conecaon-his  first  public  speech  of  any 

rMv  W°  hav°  mcntioned'    T116  meetiQg  a*  wW<*  tt 

ered-a  meeting  got  up  mainly  by  hia  etorts-took  place  ou  the  13th  of  Jauuar/ 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


in  the  year  1800,  in  the  hall  of  the  Royal  Exchange,  Dublin.  Ere  It  had  well  assembled  » 
panic  began  to  spread,  at  the  rumour  that  the  authorities  at  the  Castle  had  come  to  thr 
determination  of  suppressing  the  meeting,  in  the  exercise  of  the  arbitrary  power  they  sti' 
Sednot "to  have [recourse  to,  although  the  alleged  necessity  for  it  had  long  ceased 
with  the  utter  extinction,  more  than  a  year  before,  of  the  last  embern  of  rebelliop  <  Pre 
.entlyin  confirmation  of  this  rumour,  the  measured  tramp  of  soldiery  became  audible 
and  the  redcoats  appeared  under  the  main  portico  of  the  Exchange,  facing  to  Parliamen* 
See?  Ae  nol  ofTeir  abroach  and  the  «dden  halt,  with  the  clashing  of  the  musket* 
« thev  were  grounded  on  the  flag-stones  ontside.  Increased  the  fast-spreading  panic,  and 
onioned  a  sensible  diminution  along  the  outskirts  of  the  assemblage.  However,  owin« 
to  the  exertions  and  exhortations  of  Mr.  O'Connelland  afew  other  gentlemen,  the  main  bo<* 
stood  firm  •  atf  h--  then  advanced  to  meet  and  parley  with  the  officer  in  command  of  the  com 
btaed  inilitaiy  and  civil  array.  This  was  the  noted  Major  Sirr,  whose  name  occurs  so  fre- 
oueutly  in  the  dark  records  of  the  internal  government  of  Ireland  at  that  unhappy  time.  He 
Squired  the  objects,  Ac,,  of  the  assemblage:  and  evidently  disappointed  at  the  peaq, 
p3 order,  and  readiness  to  submit  to  the  bur.  with  which  he  was  encountered,  rehu*mtly 
buffered  the  meeting  to  proceed. 
The  following  was  Mr.  O'Comwll's  speech  on  the  interesting  occasion  •— 

Counsellor  O'Connell  rose,  and  in  a  short  speech  prefaced 
the  resolutions.  He  said  that  the  question  of  Union  was  con- 
fessedly one  of  the  first  importance  and  magnitude.  Sunk,  in- 
deed, in  more  than  criminal  apathy,  must  that  Irishman  be,  who 
could  feel  indifference  on  the  subject.  It  was  a  measure,  to  the 
consideration  of  which  we  were  called  by  every  illumination  of 
the  understanding,  and  every  feeling  of  the  heart.  There  was, 
therefore,  no  necessity  to  apologize  for  the  introducing  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  question  amongst  Irishmen.  But  before  he  brought 
forward  any  resolution,  he  craved  permission  to  make  a  few  obser- 
vations on  the  causes  which  produced  the  necessity  of  meeting  as 
Catholics:  as  a  separate  and  distinct  body.  In  doing  so,  he  thought 
he  would  clearly  show  that  they  were  justifiable  in  at  length  de- 
viating from  a  resolution  which  they  had  heretofore  formed. 
The  enlightened  mind  of  the  Catholics  had  taught  them  the 
impolicy,  the  illiberality,  and  the  injustice  of  separating  them- 
selves on  any  occasion  from  the  rest  of  the  people  of  Ireland. 
The  Catholics  had  therefore  resolved,  and  they  had  wisely  re- 
solved, never  more  to  appear  before  the  public  as  a  distinct  and 
separate  body;  but  they  did  not — they  could  not  then  foresee  the 
•jnfommately  existing  circumstances  of  this  moment.  They  could 
not  then  foresee  that  they  would  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  either 
of  submitting  to  the  disgraceful  imputation  of  approving  of  a 
measure  as  detestable  to  them,  as  it  was  ruinous  to  their  country; 
or  once  again,  and  he  trusted  for  the  last  time,  of  coming  for- 
ward as  a  distinct  body. 

There  was  no  man  present  but  was  acquainted  with  the  in- 
dustry with  which  it  was  circulated,  that  the.  Catholics  were 


DAtflEL  O  CONNT5LL,  ESQ.,  M.P. 

favourable  to  the  Union.  In  vain  did  multitudes  of  that  body 
in  different  capacities,  express  their  disapprobation  of  the  mea 
sure  ;  in  vain  did  they  concur  with  others  of  their  fellow-subjec  t* 
in  expressing  their  abhorrence  of  it — as  freemen  or  freeholdei-s 
— electors  of  counties  or  inhabitants  of  cities — still  the  calumny 
was  repeated  ;  it  was  printed  in  journal  after  journal ;  it  wan 
published  in  pamphlet  after  pamphlet ;  it  was  circulated  with 
activity  in  private  companies ;  it  was  boldly  and  loudly  pro- 
claimed in  public  assemblies.  How  this  clamour  was  raised,  and 
how  it  was  supported,  was  manifest — the  motives  of  it  were  ap- 
parent. 

In  vain  had  the  Catholics  (individually)  endeavoured  to  resist 
the  torrent.  Their  future  efforts,  as  individuals,  would  be  equally 
vain  and  fruitless ;  they  must  then  oppose  it  collectively. 

There  was  another  reason  w'iy  they  should  come  forward  as  a 
distinct  class — a  reason  which  lie  confessed  had  made  the  greatest 
impression  upon  his  feelings.  Not  content  with  falsely  asserting, 
that  the  Catholics  favoured  the  extinction  of  Ireland,  this  their 
supposed  inclination  was  attributed  to  the  foulest  motives — 
motives  which  were  most  repugnant  to  their  judgments  and 
most  abhorrent  to  their  hearts.  It  was  said  that  the  Catholics 
were  ready  to  sell  their  country  for  a  price,  ot,  what  was  still 
more  depraved,  to  abandon  it  on  account  of  the  unfortunate  ani- 
mosities which  the  wretched  temper  of  the  times  had  produced. 
Can  they  remain  silent  under  so  horrible  a  calumny  !  This 
calumny  was  flung  on  the  whole  body — it  was  incumbent  on  the 
whole  body  to  come  forward %and  contradict  it;  yes,  they  will 
jhow  every  friend  of  Ireland,  that  the  Catholics  are  incapable  01 
selling  their  country ;  they  will  loudly  declare,  that  if  their 
3mancipation  were  offered  for  their  consent  to  the  measure 
— even  were  emancipation  after  the  union  a  benefit — they 
would  reject  it  with  prompt  indignation.  (This  sentiment  met 
K-ith  approbation.)  "  Let  us,"  said  he,  "  show  to  Ireland  tha 
we  have  nothing  in  view  but  her  good  ;  nothing  in  our  hearts 
but  the  desire  of  mutual  forgiveness,  mutual  toleration,  and  mu- 
tual affection  ;  in  fine,  let  every  man  who  feels  with  me  proclaim 
that  if  the  alternative  were  offered  him  of  union,  or  the  re-enact 
ment  of  the  penal  code  in  all  its  pristine  horrors,  that  he  would 
prefer  without  hesitation  the  latter,  as  the  lesser  and  more  suf- 
ferable  evil;  that  he  would  rather  confide  in  the  justice  of  hi» 
brethren,  the  Protestants  of  Ireland,  who  have  already  liberated 
him,  than  lay  his  country  at  the  feet  of  foreigners.'*  (This  sen- 
timent was  met  wi1^  much  and  marked  approbation.)  With 


10  SELECT  SPEECHES  Op 

regard  to  the  union,  so  much  had  been  said — so  much  had  been 
Britten  on  the  subject,  that  it  was  impossible  any  man  should 
Hot  before  now  have  formed  an  opinion  of  it.  He  would  not 
irespass  on  their  attention  in  repeating  arguments  which  they 
tu'i  already  heard,  and  topics  which  they  had  already  considered  : 
but  if  there  was  any  man  present  who  could  be  so  far  mentally 
degraded,  ac:  to  consent  to  the  extinction  of  the  liberty,  the  con- 
stitution, and  eveu  +he  name  of  Ireland,  he  would  call  on  him 
not  to  leave  the  direction  and  management  of  his  commerce  and 
property  to  strangers,  o>tar  whom  he  could  have  no  control. 

He  then  concluded  by  moving  the  resolutions,  which  bcin<: 
seconded,  paa&ad  unauiinG.Jily,  and  the  meeting  broke  up. 

The  i  blowing  were  ttw  ruBOlutioas  passed  at  the  meeting.  They  were  drawu  up  by  Mr 
G'ComieL  himself  :— 

"Koyal  Exchange,  Dublin,  January  13,  1800. 

"  At  a  numerous  ar'jt  respectable  meeting  of  the  Roman  Catholics  of 
the  City  of  Dublin,  <.jnvened  pursuant  to  public  notice,  Ambrose  Moore, 
Esq.,  in  the  chair- - 

"  Resolveil — *  That  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  proposed  incorporate 
Union  cf  th*  legislature  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  is,  in  fact,  an 
extinction  of  the  liberty  of  this  country,  which  would  be  reduced  to  the 
object  condition  of  a  province,  surrendered  to  the  mercy  of  the  minister 
nod  legislature  of  another  country,  to  be  bound  by  their  absolute  will 

id  M  -jd  at  their  pleasure  by  laws,  in  the  making  of  which  this  couutrj 
wonl^i  have  no  efficient  participation  whatsoever/ 

•  Resolved — *  That  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  improvement  of  Ire- 
,tnd  for  the  last  twenty  years,  so  rapid  beyond  example,  is  to  be  ascribed 
wholly  to  the  independency  of  our  legislature,  so  gloriously  asserted  in 
tlie  year  1782,  by  virtue  of  our  parliament  co-operating  with  the  gene- 
rous recommendation  of  our  most  gracious  and  benevolent  sovereign, 
and  backed  by  the  spirit  of  our  people,  and  so  solemnly  ratified  by  both 
kingdoms  as  the  only  true  and  permanent  foundation  of  Irish  prosperity 
and  British  connection.' 

"  Resolved—'  That  we  are  of  opinion,  that  if  that  independency  should 
ever  be  surrendered,  we  must  as  rapidly  relapse  into  our  former"  depres- 
sion aud  misery  ;  and  that  Ireland  must  inevitably  lose,  with  her  liberty, 
nil  that  she  has  acquired  in  wealth,  and  industry,  aud  civilization.' 

"  Resolved — '  That  we  are  firmly  convinced,  that  the  supposed  advan- 
tages of  such  a  surrender  are  unreal  and  delusive,  and  can  never  ariac 
in  fact ;  and  that  even  if  they  should  arise,  they  would  be  only  tile 
bounty  of  the  master  to  the  slave,  held  by  his  courtesy,  and  resumabie 
ac  his  pleasure.' 

"  Resolved — '  That — having  heretofore  determined  not  to  come  for- 
ward any  more  in  the  distinct  character  of  Catholics,  but  to  consider 
our  claims  and  our  cause  not  as  those  of  a  sect,  but  as  involved  in  the 
general  fate  of  our  country — we  now  think  it  right,  notwithstanding 
MI cit  determination,  to  publish  the  present  resolutions,  in  order  to  uadts 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  11. P.  11 

ceive  our  fellow-subjects  who  may  have  been  led  to  believe,  by  a  fa  to 
representation,  that  we  are  capable  of  giving  any  concurrence  whatso- 
ever to  so  foul  and  fatal  a  project ;  to  assure  them  we  are  incapable  of 
Kxcrificins:  our  common  country  to  either  pique  or  pretension  ;  and  that 
we  are  of  opinion,  that  this  deadly  attack  upon  the  nation  is  the  great 
call  of  nature,  of  country,  and  posterity  upon  Irishmen  of  all  description? 
and  persuasions,  to  every  constitutional  and  legal  resistance  :  and  that 
we  sacredly  pledge  ourselves  to  persevere  in  obedience  to  that  call  as 
long  as  we  have  life.' 

"  Signed,  by  urder, 

"  JAMES  RYAN,  Sec." 


THE  CATHOLIC  COMMITTEE. 

~fln  next  speech  that  we  shall  give,  was  the  firs':  to  bs  found  reported  of  hispnbMc  addreww* 
in  reference  to  Catholic  affair*  specially.  In  January,  1808.  the  "  Catholic  Committee,"  as 
the  AGITATORS  of  the  day  styled  themselves,  assembled  to  debate  the  advisability  of  af 
immediate  Petition  to  Parliament  for  the  total  abrogation  of  the  Penal  Laws.  The  nep» 
tive  was  strongly  urged  by  some  of  their  number,  supported,  as  was  rumoured,  r-y  the  opi 
nlon  of  the  celebrated  John  Keogh,  the  Catholic  leader  of  that  day,  who  was  however 
prevented  by  illness  from  attending  in  person. 

Ills  objection  was  said  to  be  founded  on  the  idea  that  it  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  the 
Catholic  body  to  petition  so  repeatedly ;  and  that  it  would  be  more  advisable  for  them  to 
remain  quiet,  watching  in  "  defied  s«l«nce"  the  course  of  events  and  the  conduct  of  t!n;ir 
parliamentary  friends. 

The  other  opiwneuts  01  petitioninfc  l»ad  less  specious  objections  to  offer,  and  in  answer 
chielly  to  them  the  following  speech  was  delivered: — 

Mr.  O'Connell  said  he  had  not  intended  to  address  the  meet- 
ing. His  anxiety  for  the  Catholic  cause  alone  brought  him  for- 
ward. He  entertained  no  apprehension  about  Catholic  Eman 
cipation,  but  such  as  might  arise  from  the  conduct  cf  the  Catho- 
lics themselves.  He  could  not  avoid  asking  whether  the  public 
time  was  to  be  wasted  by  childish  and  puerile  objections — 
objections  that  could  only  manifest  a  spirit  of  division,  a  feeling 
of  party,  and  a  miserable  ambition  of  leadership.  With  every 
faculty  of  his  mind  awake  to  the  deplorable  consequences  of 
division,  ho  should  not  cease  to  exert  all  the  energy  of  his  soul 
to  stimulate  their  minds  to  unanimity.  When  an  adjournment 
was  proposed,  he  expected  to  hear  it  supported  by  some  kind  o. 
argument  :  had  any  existed,  it  would  certainly  have  be-jn  put 
forward  by  the  eloquent  gentlemen  who  had  already  spoken  ; 
that  they  had  not  condescended  to  reason  was  to  him  decisive 
proof  that"i.o  pfoutiiblo  reason  existed.  No  man  was  more  ready 
to  abando'  hits  opinion  to  argument,  but  he  could  not  agree  tc 


12  BKT/ECT  SPFFOHEe  OP 


a  measure  fraught  with  mischievous  consequences,  merely  because 
one  gentleman  made  a  motion,  and  another  was  pleased  to  second 
it.      He  would  entreat  of  gentlemen  to  take  a  cautious  view  of 
ihe  precipice  which  opened  to  them,  shou  d  they  suffer  theii 
pood  sense  to  lx*  led  away  by  any  motives,  to  the  adoption  of 
the  sentiments  excited  industriously  ;  but  for  no  good  purpose 
excited  by  those  who  would  divide  the  Catholic  body.     Commoc 
sense  alone  ought  to  be  a  sufficient  protection  against  the  insi- 
dious attempt.     He  begged  to  remind  gentlemen  of  what  had 
taken  place  at  the  last  meeting.     The  gienerous  feelings  of  Catho- 
lics had  gained  precedence  of  their  interests,  and  they  had  given 
up  the  presenting  of  their  petition,  in  the  last  iession  of  Parlia 
ment,  to  t  heir  gratitude  towards  their  political  advocates.     There 
was  another  reason  for  that  sacrifice  :  a  stupid  and  atrocious 
spirit  of  bigotry  had  been  fomented  m  iLngland,  even  by  minis- 
terial authority  ;  and  the  Catholics  had  generously  withdrawn 
from  the  struggle,  that  they  might  deprive  British  intolerance 
of  oven  the  shadow  of  an  excuse.     He  recollected  with  pleasure 
the  splendid  exertions  of  the  ancient  advocate  of  the  Catholic 
cause  (John  Keogh,)  upon  that  occasion.     He  it  was  that  had 
urged  the  topics  just  alluded  to,  with  irresistible  force  ;  and  had 
not  an  illness,  now  deeply  to  be  deplored,  prevented  his  attend- 
ance this  day,  division  in  the  Catholic  body  could  not  be  feared 
His  powers  of  reasoning  would  have  frightened  away  the  caption? 
objections  taken  to  the  resolution,  and  the  Catholics  of  Irelano 
would  have  again  to  thank  their  old  and  useful  servant  for  the 
preservation  of  their  honour,  and  the  support  of  their  interests. 
Mr.  O'Connell  called  the  attention  of  the  meeting  to  the  resolu- 
tion which  had  unanimously  passed  at  the  last  meeting  ;  and  by 
which  the  care  of  the  Catholic  petition  was  entrusted  to  the 
noble  earl  in  the  chair.     It  was  committed  to  his  sole  manage- 
ment.    Neither  jealousy  could  suggest,   nor  folly  express  an 
objection  to  the  resolution  which  had  so  committed  it.     It  was 
Unnecessary  for  him,  and  indeed  he  had  not  the  powers  to  put 
In  their  proper  point  of  view,  the  qualities  that  called  for  and 
justified  that  confidence  ;  and  the   presence  of  the  noble  lord 
restrained  the  effusions  of  public  gratitude  for  his  services,  but 
the  impression  was  the  more  deeply  felt  for  being  cherished  omy 
in  the  silence  of  the  heart.  —  [Mr.  O'Connell  was  here  interrupted 
by  loud  and  repeated  acclamations:]  —  Well,  to  Lord  Fingall  you 
Committed  the  sole  management  of  your  petition  ;  he  accepted 
the  office  ;   he  was  authorised  to  act  for  himself  ;   and  it  is 
attempted  to  be  insinuated  to  this  mooting  that  he  has  not  acted 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  IS 

consistently  ;  because,  when  he  might  have  acted  upon  his  own 
suggestions  alone,  he  anxiously  and  industriously  sought  for  the 
advice  and  assistance  of  every  individual  who  had  heretofore 
taken  part  in  the  Catholic  question.  This,  under  the  resolution 
of  the  last  meeting,  was  an  unnecessary  condescension ;  but 
assuredly  it  was  the  more  amiable  and  the  less  liable  to  objec- 
tion. Yet  what  was  the  ground  the  supporters  of  an  adjourn- 
ment went  upon  ?  It  amounted  to  this  :  that  Lord  Fingall  had 
done,  with  advice  and  deliberation,  that  which  he  might  have 
done  instantly  and  alone.  Was  the  calling  of  the  present  meet- 
ing less  the  act  of  Lord  Fingall,  because  the  opinions  and  judg- 
ments of  so  many  whom  he  had  consulted  concurred  with  him 
in  its  propriety  ?  To  such  absurdity  were  his  opponents  driven, 
that  they  must  support  the  affirmative  of  the  proposition.  But 
it  was  said  that  there  had  been  no  notice  given  of  the  present 
meeting.  It  was  strange  to  hear  this  objection  ur<_red  by  gentle- 
men whose  presence  seemed  to  admit  that  the  notice  was  suffi- 
cient. However,  what  was  the  fact  ?  Had  not  tluit  meeting 
been  announced  in  all  the  Dublin  papers  more  than  ten  days 
previously  1  It  could  not  be  denied  that  it  had  been  so  announced  j 
Still  a  pretext  was  left,  and  they  hut  I  been  gravely  told  that  it 
was  true  the  announcement  of  the  meeting  hail  bet-n  published, 
but  that  it  was  published  in  form  of  a  paragraph,  and  not  of  n 
advertisement.  Here  then  it  stood  admitted  that  it  was  not  for 
substance,  but  mere  matter  of  form,  that  the  Catholb  body  was 
to  be  divided.  One  would  imagine  that  division  was  a  p;ood 
thing,  when  so  flimsy  a  pretext  was  resorted  to,  to  produr-3  it 
He  trusted  that  the  gentlemen  themselves  would  abandon  (hen- 
opposition,  when  they  saw  the  question  put  in  this,  its  pi  )per 
light.  The  Catholics  of  every  part  of  Ireland  had  been  'in- 
sulted :  their  sentiments  as  to  the  propriety  of  petitioning  had 
been  required  by  letter.  Numerous  answers  had  been  received 
from  the  most  respectable  persons  in  all  the  counties,  who  all 
Concurred  in  this  one  opinion,  that  the  petition  should  be  for- 
warded without  the  smallest  delay.  In  some  parts  the  Catho- 
lics had  already  gone  further — meetings  had  been  held  in  the 
hies  of  Cork  and  Waterford,  and  resolutions  to  that  effect 
entered  into  ;  nay,  the  petition  had  not  only  the  good  wishes  of 
our  liberal  and  enlightened  Protestant  brethren  of  Ireland,  but 
some  of  them  had  expressed  their  sentiments  by  a  public  resolu- 
tion; he  alluded  to  that  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  of  the  county 
of  Tipperary.  Their  conduct,  patriotic  as  it  was  amiable,  useful 
i£  svell  as  benevolent,  wub  the  theme  of  gentu-*4  admiration,  lio 


14  *HLFfn'  SPEECHES  OF 

regretted  that  ho  could  not  KT  oak  of  it  iii  terms  according  wit  I: 
the  gratitude  of  his  heart.  It  reminded  him,  however,  of  that 
affectionate  attention  and  care  for  the  rights  of  Irishmen,  warmed, 
though  not  created,  by  the  benevolent  recommendation  of  our 
beloved  sovereign,  which  has  induced  the  Irish  Protestants  of  the 
present  generation  to  break  the  fetters  of  the  Catholic,  and  totally 
to  emancipate  the  Presbyterian — a  wise  and  magnanimous  poiicy, 
which  would  have  long  since  restored  the  Catholic  to  complete 
freedom,  haxl  their  cause  and  their  country  been  left  in  the  han«Js 
of  Irish  Protestants  (loud  and  repeated  applause.)  Under  those 
circumstances,  nothing  but  disunion  among  themselves  could 
ever  retard  the  Catholic  cause.  Division,  while  it  rendered  them 
the  object  of  disgust  to  their  friends,  would  make  them  the  scorn 
and  ridicule  of  their  enemies.  He  was  ready  to  admit  that  the 
present  administration  were  personal  enemies  of  the  Catholic 
cause  ;  yet,  if  the  Catholics  continue  loyal,  firm,  and  undivided, 
they  had  little  to  fear  from  the  barren  petulance  of  the  ex-advo- 
cate, Perceval,  or  the  frothy  declamations  of  the  poetaster,  Can- 
. ung — they  might  meet  with  equal  contempt  the  upstart  pride 
of  the  Jenkinsons,  and  with  more  than  contempt  the  pompous 
inanity  of  that  Lord  Castlereagh,  who  might  well  be  permitted 
to  hate  the  country  that  gave  him  birth,  to  her  own  annihilation. 
He  was  also  free  to  confess  that  he  knew  of  no  statute  passed 
since  tho  Union,  which  had  for  its  object  to  increase  the  trade, 
or  advance  the  liberties  of  Ireland ;  but  he  thought  it  impossible, 
if  the  Catholics  persevered,  with  undivided  efforts,  in  thoir  loyal 
and  dutiful  pursuit  of  Emancipation,  that  any  administration 
could  be  found  sufficiently  daring  in  guilt  to  stand  between 
them  and  fhe  throne  of  their  father  and  sovereign  ;  and  most 
calumniously  and  falsely  use  his  name  to  raise  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  good  subjects  seeking  to  become  free  citizens.  He  did 
therefore,  conjure  the  gentlemen  to  give  up  their  opposition;  he 
respected  their  talents,  and  however  convinced  of  their  mistake, 
could  not  doubt  the  purity  of  their  motives.  They  must  see 
that  their  arguments  against  the  resolution  were  confined  to  tho 
ridiculous  opposition,  in  fact,  against  the  noble  lord,  for  his 
having  condescended  to  ask  advice  before  he  acted  :  and  to  the 
equally  frivolous  difficulty  objected  to  the  form  of  t^e  notice  for 
calling  the  meeting.  Was  it  possible  that  rational  beings  should 
govern  their  conduct  by  such  arguments  in  the  serious  pursuit 
of  freedom?  They  were  sons,  and  might  dearly  love  the  parents 
who  gave  them  birth— let  them  recollect  that  it  was  for  their 
rights  that  the  petition  was  framed  :  they  were  brothers,  and 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,   ESQ.,   M.P.  15 

should,  if  they  felt  tne  endearing  impulses  of  fraternal  affectioi* 
sacrifice  party,  and  of  course  mere  forms  and  ceremonies,  in  « 
struggle  for  obtaining  the  rights  of  their  brethren  :  they  were 
parents,  and  all  the  sweet  charities  of  life,  combined  in  favour  of 
the  children  who  looked  up  to  them  for  protection.  It  was  thf 
liberties  of  those  children  the  present  petition  sought — would 
they  postpone  for  an  hour  that  sacred  blessing  t  Could  they, 
from  any  motive,  thwart  the  progress  of  those  who  sought  it  ?  He 
knew  that  was  impossible,  and  he  hoped,  therefore,  there  would 
be  no  division. 

The  result  of  the  debate  was  a  withdrawal  of  the  amendment,  and  the  unanim^ui  carry- 
ing of  the  resolution  to  petition. 


AGGREGATE  MEETING. 

«or  long  afterwards,  Mr.  O'Connell  hail  again  an  opportunity,  most  congenial  and  accept- 
able to  his  feelings,  of  coming  forward  upon  a  national  question,  and  suspending  for  the 
time  all  mention  of  the  claims  and  wishes  cf  a  particular  class  or  body,  however  numerous 
or  important  in  themselves.  A  movement  was  suddenly  and  most  unexpectedly  made  In 
the  rery  bosom  of  the  exclusive  and  deeply-dyed  Orange  Corporation  of  Dublin  itself.  In 
March  of  the  year  1818,  against  the  Act  of  Legislative  Union  between  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland;  and  although  the  patriotic  attempt— headed,  we  are  glad  to  record,  by  the  name 
of  one  of  a  family  known  then  and  ever  since  as  among  the  best  and  most  considerate 
-m plovers  of  labour  in  the  City  of  Dublin,  the  Button  family— made  no  progress  In  1808, 
two  years  later  a  better  success  attended  it 

Upon  the  18th  of  September,  1810,  the  folk  wing  meeting  took  place.  The  subject  being 
still  of  such  interest,  we  give,  in  addition  to  Mr.  O'Connell's  speech,  some  brief  prefatory 
matter  descriptive  of  the  occurrence,  including  the  remarks  of  some  others  of  the  speakers, 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens,  freemen,  and  freeholders  of  the  city 
of  Dublin,  at  the  Royal  Exchange,  on  Tuesday,  18th  September,  1810, 
held  pursuant  to  a  requisition  of  several  respecfable  citizens  of  Dublin, 
to  the  high  sheritfs,  to  consider  of  a  petition  to  the  king's  most  excel- 
lent majesty,  and  the  imperial  parliament,  praying  them  to  take  into 
their  consideration  the  Repeal  of  the  Act  of  Union — Sir  James  Kiddall, 
Knight,  high  sheriff  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  in  the  chair. 

"  On  Sir  James  Riddall  taking  the  chair,  he  addressed  the  most 
numerous  and  respectable  auditory  that  ever  assembled  in  the  city  o» 
Dublin.  He  recommended  to  the  assembly  to  maintain  the  utmost 
order  and  regularity  in  their  proceedings  ;  assuring  them  he  had  the 
greatest  hopes  that  if  they  conducted  themselves  with  propriety,  they 
would  finally  succeed  in  carrying  their  point ;  but  by  manifesting  a  con- 
trary disposition,  they  would  afford  a  pretext  to  their  enemies  to  maliga 
their  motives. 

•'  The  requisition,  signed  by  a  number  of  citizens,  freemen,  and  free- 
holders of  the  city  of  Dublin,  at  the  late  (Quarter  Serious  Grand  Jury 


16  SELECT   SPEECHES   OF 

was  read  by  Mr.  Frederick  Conway,  who  was  appointed  secretary  to 
the  meeting,  stating,  that  on  account  of  the  depressed  state  of  Ihu 
manufactures  in  the  county  and  city  of  Dublin,  the  citizens  of  Dublin 
pointed  out  as  the  only  mode  of  radical  relief  which  occurred  to  them 
was  to  present  a  requisition  to  the  high  sheriffs  of  the  city  of  Dublin, 
to  call  a  meeting  of  the  citizens,  freemen,  and  freeholders  of  Dublin,  t< 
tonsider  of  presenting  a  petition  to  his  Majesty,  praying  a  Repeal  of 
the  Act  of  Union. 

"  Sir  James  lliddal  then  said — In  consequence  of  the  requisition,  1 
have  called  you,  gentlemen,  together  this  day.  I  am  determined,  im- 
partially, to  hear  every  one  for  and  against  the  question ;  a  patient 
hearing  will  be  given  to  every  gentlemen  who  chooses  to  deliver  his 
opinion  on  either  side. 

"  Mr.  Hutton  then  rose,  and  spoke  as  follows : — Mr.  Sheriff,  I  am 
called  upon  to  move  a  resolution,  that  a  committee  may  be  appointed 
to  prepare  and  draw  up  a  petition  to  the  king's  mostf excellent  Majesty, 
and  to  the  imperial  parliament,  to  take  into  consideration  the  Repeal 
of  the  Union.  I  stand  forth  on  this  occasion  an  advocate  of  the  Repeal 
of  the  Act  of  Union,  and  I  claim  your  candid  attention.  I  am  aware 
of  the  inadequacy  of  my  abilities  on  this  occasion,  but  I  appeal  to  your 
candour  and  goodness,  and  I  appeal  to  every  man  that  knows  me,  for 
the  rectitude  of  my  intentions.  It  has  been  asserted  privately,  that  this 
assembly  has  been  convened  for  improper  purposes  :  the  purport  of  this 
meeting  is,  to  put  down  everything  like  disorder  in  the  state,  and  pre- 
sent a  petition  to  his  Majesty,  stating  that  we  conceive  it  would  be  for 
the  benefit  of  our  common  country,  and  to  preserve  our  connection  with 
England,  and  testify  our  loyalty  to  our  king,  by  having  the  Act  of 
Union  Repealed.  This  wretched  act  has  prevented  our  manufactures 
from  having  a  fair  competition  in  the  market,  and  were  it  repealed,  it 
would  be  of  the  utmost  advantage  to  our  manufactures,  r»nd  give  a  new 
impulse  to  our  commerce.  The  repeal  of  that  measure,  he  contended, 
would  tend  to  the  best  means  to  secure  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of 
Ireland.  At  the  time  the  Act  of  Union  was  proposed,  it  was  held  out 
to  the  people  of  this  country,  that  persons  possessing  great  British  capi- 
tal, would  come  over  from  England  and  establish  manufactures  in  Ire- 
land, an  1  particularly  in  Dublin,  our  trade  would  be  increased — that 
we  should  have  the  education  of  the  poor  in  Ireland  properly  attended 
to.  The  Roman  Catholics  were  told  that  they  had  a  right  to  expect 
more  benefits  from  the  interference  of  the  Bririth  parliament,  thin  they 
could  expect  to  receive  from  an  Irish  parliament.  Sir,  we  have  now 
had  the  experience  of  ten  years,  since  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  Union, 
and  let  me  ask  have  the  Irish  manufactures  had  a  fair  competition  in 
the  British  markets  ?  Have  the  manufactures  of  Ireland  been  protected 
and  encouraged,  or  have  those  of  Dublin  flourished  as  we  were  pro- 
mised ?  Let  me  ask,  have  the  poor  of  the  land  had  their  education  pro- 
perly attended  to?  Every  man  that  i*  a  well-tvisher  to  the  prosperity 
of  Ireland,  will  answer  me  in  the  negative.  Have  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics met  with  any  acknowledgment  of  the  justice  of  their  claims  ?  If 
taey  have,  iut  any  man  who  now  hears  me,  »fc°ud  forward  and  avow  it 


iVi.,    M.l>.  17 

On  the  contrary,  the  Catholics,  in  their  rights,  ever  since  the  passin> 
nf  the  Act  of  Union,  have  stood,  and  do  stand  at  present,  just  where 
they  began.  They  have  endeavoured  to  get  their  claims  acknowledged 
•uul  acquiesced  in  ;  but  are  they  not  at  this  instant  precluded  from  hold- 
ing any  superior  rank  in  the  army  ?  1  do  not,  Sir,  speak  of  adminis- 
tration, but  I  contend  that  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  Ireland  depend 
ipon  the  Repeal  of  the  Act  of  Union.  We,  therefore,  wish  the  parlia- 
ment of  Ireland  to  be  restored  to  the  same  state  it  was  in  at  the  period 
of  1782.  A  parliament  in  Ireland  is  the  only  means  of  restoring  the 
'luiependence,  promoting  the  happiness  of  our  country,  securing  its 
peace  and  prosperity.  Sir,  I  feel  myself  inadequate  to  do  ample  jus- 
tice to  the  business  now  before  us  ;  I  shall  only  say,  I  consider  that  the 
Repeal  of  the  Act  of  Union  would  tend  to  the  advantage  of  my  country. 
My  want  of  ability  to  do  adequate  justice  to  the  great  question,  and  I 
expect  that  this  business  will  be  fuhs  spoken  to  by  these  honourable 
gentlemen  who  will  take  a  part  in  the  debates  of  this  day,  with  whom 
this  business  originated.  I  trust,  Sir,  that  this  day's  proceedings  will 
show  to  the  world,  collectively  and  individually,  our  loyalty,  zeal,  and 
Attachment  to  our  good  king,  and  prove  that  our  opinion  is  universal 
and  unanimous,  concerning  the  Act  of  Union.  I  mention,  Sir,  that  it  is 
by  such  a  Repeal  only,  that  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  Ireland  can  t?e 
preserved.  We  should  be  indissolubly  linked  to  Great  Britain  by  such 
a  Repeal,  and  by  such  a  one  alone  !  I  move,  Sir,  that  a  committee  ol 
nine  persons  be  appointed  to  prepare  and  draw  up  an  address  to  hia 
majesty,  and  to  the  imperial  parliament,  praying  a  Repeal  of  the  Act 
of  Union. 

"  Ambrose  Mocre,  Esq.,  seconded  the  motion. 

"  The  resolution  was  read  accordingly,  and  agreed  to  without  one 
dissenting  voice. 

**  A  committee  of  nine  gentlemen  was  then  appointed  to  draw  up  and 
prepare  the  said  petition.  The  names  were,  Mr.  Huttou,  Mr.  Randal 
M'Donald,  Mr.  Ashenhurst,  Mr.  O'Connell,  Mr.  Moore,  Mr.  N.  Mahon, 
Mr.  Abbot,  Mr.  Harty,  Mr.  Farrell.  The  said  committee  appointed  to 
prepare  and  draw  up  the  petition,  having  prepared  the  same,  they  made 
their  report  to  the  assembly  at  large. 

"  The  petition  to  the  king  was  then  read  and  carried  unanimously. ' 

Mr.  O'Connell  declared  that  he  offered  himself  to  the  meeting 
with  unfeigned  diffidence.  He  was  unable  to  do  justice  to  his 
feelings  on  the  great  national  subject  on  which  they  had  met. 
He  felt  too  much  of  personal  anxiety  to  allow  him  to  arrange  iu 
anything  like  order,  the  many  topics  which  rushed  upon  hh 
liind.  now,  that  after  ten  years  of  silence  and  torpor,  Irishmen 
began  again  to  recollect  their  enslaved  country,  it  wag  a  melan- 
choly period,  those  ten  years— a  period  in  which  Ireland  saw 
her  artificers  starved — her  tradesmen  begging — her  merchants 
becomo  bankrupts — her  gentry  banished — her  nobility  degraded. 
Within  that  period  domestic  turbulence  broke  from  day  to  day 


18  SELEC  r  SPEECHES  OF 

iato  open  violence  and  murder — religious  dissensions  were  aggra- 
vated and  embittered — credit,  and  commerce  were  annihilated — 
taxation  augmented  m  amount  and  in  vexation.  Besides  tho 
"  hanginsrs-off"  of  the  ordinary  assizes,  we  had  been  disgraced  by 
the  necessity  that  existed  for  holding  two  special  commissions 
of  death,  and  had  been  degraded  by  one  rebellion — and,  to  crown 
all,  we  were  at  length  insulted  by  being  told  of  our  growing  pro- 
sperity" This  was  not  the  painting  of  imagination — it.  borrowed 
nothing  from  fancy — it  was,  alas,  the  plain  representation  of  the 
facts  that  had  occurred — the  picture,  in  sober  colours,  of  the  real 
state  of  his  ill-fated  country.  There  was  not  a  man  present  but 
must  be  convinced  that  he  dicl  not  exaggerate  a  single  fact :  there 
was  not  a  man  present  but  must  know  that  more  misery  existed 
than  he  had  described.  Such  being  the  history  of  the  first  ten 
years  of  the  Union,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  convince  any 
inprejudiced  man,  that  all  those  calamities  had  sprung  from  that 
measure.  Ireland  was  favoured  by  Providence  with  a  fertile  soil, 
an  excellent  situation  for  commerce,  intersected  by  navigable 
rivers,  indented  at  every  side  with  safe  and  commodious  har- 
bours, blessed  with  a  fruitful  soil,  and  with  a  vigorous,  hardy, 
generous,  and  brave  population ;  how  did  it  happen  then,  that 
the  noble  qualities  of  the  Irish  people  were  perverted  ?  that  tho 
order  of  Providence  was  disturbed,  and  its  blessings  worse  than 
neglected  ?  The  fatal  cause  was  obvious — it  was  the  Union. 
That  these  deplorable  effects  would  follow  from  that  accursed 
measure,  was  prophesied.  Before  the  Act  of  Union  passed,  it  had 
been  already  proved  that  the  trade  of  the  country  and  its  credit 
must  fail  as  capital  was  drawn  from  it ;  that  turbulence  and  vio- 
lence would  increase,  when  the  gentry  were  removed  to  residence 
in  another  country  ;  that  the  taxes  should  increase  in  the  same 
proportion  as  the  people  became  unable  to  pay  them.  But  nei- 
ther the  argument  nor  the  prophetic  fears  have  ended  with  oui 
present  evils.  It  has  also  been  demonstrated,  that  as  long  aa 
the  Union  continues,  so  long  must  our  misfortunes  accumulate. 
The  nature  of  that  measure,  and  the  experience  of  facts  which 
we  have  now  had,  leave  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  what  has  been 
asserted  respecting  the  future.  But,  if  there  be  any  still  incre- 
dulous, he  can  only  be  of  those  who  submit  their  reason  to  autho- 
rity. To  such  person,  the  authority  of  Mr.  John  Foster,  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  for  Ireland,  would  probably  be  conclu- 
sive ;  and  Foster  has  assured  us,  that  final  ruin  to  our  country 
must  be  the  consequence  of  the  Union.  I  will  not  dwell,  Mr 
Sheriff,  on  the  miseries  of  my  country;  I  am  di«- listed  with  the 


DATCIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  IS 

wretcnedness  the  Union  has  produced?  and  I  do  not  dare  to 
trust  myself  with  the  contemplation  of  the  accumulation  of  sor- 
r^w  that  must  overwhelm  the  land,  if  the  Union  be  not  repealed ; 
I  beg  to  call  the  attention  of  the  meeting  to  another  part  of  the 
subject.  The  Union,  Sir,  was  a  violation  of  our  national  and 
inherent  rights — a  flagrant  injustice.  The  representatives  whom 
we  had  elected  for  a  short  period  of  eight  years,  had  no  autho- 
rity to  dispose  of  their  country  for  ever.  It  cannot  be  pretended 
that  any  direct  or  express  authority  to  that  effect  was  given  to 
them  ;  and  the  nature  of  their  delegation  excludes  all  idea  of 
their  having  any  such  by  implication.  They  were  the  servants 
of  the  nation,  empowered  to  consult  for  its  good — not  its  mas- 
ters, to  make  traffic  and  dispose  of  it  at  their  fantasy  or  for  their 
profit.  I  deny  that  the  nation  itself  had  a  right  to  barter  its 
independence,  or  to  commit  political  suicide ;  but  when  our  ser- 
vants destroyed  our  existence  as  a  nation,  they  added  to  the 
baseness  of  assassination  all  the  guilt  of  high  treason.  The  rea- 
soning upon  which  those  opinions  are  founded  is  sufficiently 
obvious.  They  require  no  sanction  from  the  authority  of  any 
Uiime — neither  do  I  pretend  to  give  them  any  weight,  by  declar- 
ing them  to  be  conscientiously  my  own ;  but  if  you  want  autho- 
rity, to  induce  the  conviction  that  the  Union  had  injustice  fol 
its  principle,  and  a  crime  for  its  basis,  I  appeal  to  that  of  his 
Majesty's  present  Attorney-General,  Mr.  Saurin,  who,  in  his 
place  in  the  Irish  parliament,  pledged  his  character  as  a  lawyer 
and  a  statesman,  that  the  Union  must  be  a  violation  of  every 
moral  principle,  and  that  it  was  a  mere  question  of  prudence 
whether  it  should  not  be  resisted  by  force.  I  also  appeal  to  the 
opinions  of  the  late  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  Ireland,  Mr.  George 
Vonsonby — of  the  present  Solicitor-General,  Mr.  Bushe — and  of 
that  splendid  lawyer,  Mr.  Plunket.  The  Union  was,  therefore, 
a  manifest  injustice — and  it  continues  to  be  unjust  at  this  day  : 
it  was  a  crime,  and  must  be  still  criminal,  unless  it  shall  be 
ludicrously  pretended  that  crime,  like  wine,  improves  by  old  age, 
and  that  time  mollifies  injustice  into  innocence.  You  may  smile 
at  the  supposition,  but  in  sober  sadness  you  must  be  convinced 
that  we  daily  suffer  injustice ;  that  every  succeeding  day  adds 
only  another  sin  to  the  catalogue  of  British  vice ;  and  that  if 
the  Union  continues,  it  will  only  make  crime  hereditary,  and 
injustice  perpetual.  We  have  been  robbed,  my  countrymen, 
most  foully  robbed  of  our  birthright,  of  our  independence — may  it 
n  rt  be  permitted  to  us,  mournfully  to  ask  how  this  consummation 
of  evil  was  perfected!  for  it  was  not  in  any  disastrous  buttle  tlmt 


20  SELECT   SPEECHES   O* 

our lioerties  were  struck  down — no  foreign  invader  had  despoiled 
the  land  ;  we  have  not  forfeited  our  country  by  any  crimes — nei  - 
ther  did  we  lose  it  in  any  domestic  insurrection.  No,  the  rebel- 
lion was  completely  put  down  before  the  Union  was  accomplished  : 
the  Irish  militia  and  the  Irish  yeomanry  had  put  it  down.  How, 
then,  have  we  become  enslaved  ?  Alas  !  England,  that  ought  to 
have  been  to  us  as  a  sister  and  a  friend — England,  whom  we  had 
?oved,  and  fought,  and  bled  for — England,  whom,  we  have  pro- 
tected, and  whom  we  do  protect — England,  at  a  period  when  out 
of  100,000  of  the  seamen  in  her  service,  70,000-  were  Irish — 
England  stole  upon  us,  like  a  thief  in  the  night,  and  robbed  us  of 
the  precious  gem  of  our  Liberty ;  she  stole  from  us  '  that  which 
in  nought  enriched  her,  >but  made  us  poor  indeed.'  Reflect 
then,  my  friends,  on  the  means  employed  to  accomplish  this  dis- 
astrous measure.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  meaner  instruments  of 
bribery  and  corruption — we  all  know  that  everything  was  put 
to  sale — nothing  profane  or  sacred  was  omitted  in  the  Union 
mart — offices  in  the  revenue,  commands  in  the  army  and  navy, 
the  sacred  ermine  of  justice,  and  the  holy  altars  of  God  were  all 
profaned  and  polluted  as  the  rewards  of  Union  services.  By  a 
vote  in  favour  of  the  Union,  ignorance,  incapacity,  and  profligacy, 
obtained  certain  promotion  ;  and  our  ill-fated  but  beloved  country 
was  degraded  to  her  utmost  limits,  before  she  was  transfixed  in 
slavery.  But  I  do  not  intend  to  detain  you  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  those  vulgar  means  of  parliamentary  success — they  are 
within  the  daily  routine  of  official  managvMMi* :  neither  will  I 
direct  your  attention  to  the  frightful  recollection  ol  that  avowed 
fact  which  is  now  part  of  history,  that  the  rebellion  itself  was 
fomented  and  encouraged  in  order  to-  facilitate  the  Union.  EVCD 
the  rebellion  was  an  accidental  and  secondary  cause — the  real 
cause  of  the  Union  lay  deeper,  but  is  quite  obvious.  It  is  to  be 
found  at  once  in  the  religious  dissensions  which  the  enemies  of 
Ireland  have  created,  and:  continued,  and  seek  to  perpetuate 
amongst  ourselves,  by  telling  us  of,  and  separating  u&  into 
wretched  sections  and  miserable  subdivisions  ;  they  separated 
the  Protestant  from  the  Catholic,  and  the  Presbyterian  from 
both ;  they  rsvived  every  antiquated  cause  of  domestic  animo< 
sity,  and  they  invented  new  pretexts  of  rancour  ;  but  above  all, 
my  countrymen,  they  belied  and  calumniated  us  to  each  other — 
they  falsely  declared  that  we  hated  each  other,  and  they  con- 
tinued to  repeat  the  assertion,  until  we  came  to  believe  it ;  they 
succeeded  in  producing  all  the  madness  of  party  HI  id,  religious 
distinctions ;  and  whilst  we  \ver*  J«at  in  the  stupor  oi«  i 


DANTEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  2\ 

they  planderec  us  of  our  country,  and  left  us  to  recover  at  our 
ieisure  from  the  horrid  delusion  into  which  we  had  been  so  art- 
fully conducted. 

Such  then  were  the  means  by  which  the  Union  was  effectuated, 
It  has  stripped  us  of  commerce  aud  wealth  ;  if  Has  degraded  us, 
and  deprived  us  not  only  of  our  station  as  a  nation,  but  even  of  the 
name  of  our  country  ;  we  are  governed  by  foreigners — foreigners 
make  our  laws,  for  were  the  one  hundred  members  who  nominally 
represent  Ireland  in  what  is  called  the  iru  serial  parliament,  were 
'hey  really  our  representatives,  what  inti  tui:ice  could  they,  al- 
though unbought  and  unanimous,  have  ov-,r  the  five  hundred 
and  fifty-eight  English  aud  Scotch  members  ?  But  wtyat  is  the 
fact  ?  Why  that  out  of  the  one  hundred,  such  as  they  are,  that 
sit  for  this  country,  more  than  one-fifth  know  nothing  of  us,  and 
are  unknown  to  us.  What,  for  example,  do  we  know  about 
Andrew  Strahaii,  printer  to  the  king  ?  What  can  Henry  Martin, 
barrister -at-law,  care  for  the  rights  or  liberties  of  Irishmen  1 — 
Some  of  us  may,  perhaps  for  our  misfortunes,  have  been  com- 
pelled to  read  a  verbose  pamphlet  of  James  Stevens;  but  who 
knows  anything  of  one  Crile,  one  Huglian,  one  Cackin,  or  of  a 
dozen  more  whose  names  I  could  mention,  only  because  I  have 
discovered  them  for  the  purpose  of  speaking  to  you  about  them  ; 
what  sympathy  can  we  in  our  sufferings,  expect  from  those  men  ? 
What  solicitude  for  on*'  interests  ?  What  are  thev  to  Ireland,  or 
Ireland  to  them  ?  No,  Mr.  Sheriff,  we  are  not  represented — we 
have  no  effectual  share  in  the  legislation — the  thing  is  a  mere 
mockery  ;  neither  is  the  imperil  parliament  competent  to  legis- 
late for  us — it  is  too  unwieldy  a  machine  to  legislate  with  dis- 
cernment for  England  alone ;  but  with  respect  to  Ireland,  it  has 
all  the  additional  inconvenience  that  arise  from  want  of  interest 
and  total  ignorance.  Sir,  when  I  talk  of  the  utter  ignorance,  in 
Irish  affairs,  of  the  members  of  the  imperial  parliament,  I  do  not 
exaggerate  or  mistake  ;  the  ministers  themselves  are  in  absolute 
darkness  with  respect  to  this  country.  I  undertake  to  demon- 
strate it.  Sir,  they  have  presumed  to  speak  of  the  growing  pro- 
sperity of  Ireland — I  know  them  to  be  vile  and  profligate — I 
Tarmot  bt  suspected  of  nattering  them — yet  vile  as  they  are,  I 
io  not  believe  they  could  have  had  the  audacity  to  insert  in  the 
speech,  supposed  to  be  spoken  by  his  Majesty,  that  expression, 
had  they  known  that,  in  fact,  Ireland  was  in  abject  and  increas- 
ing poverty.  Sir,  they  were  content  to  take  their  information. 
from  a  pensioned  Frenchman — a  being  styled  Sir  Francis  D 
nfr.o,  who,  in  one  C  the  pamphlets  which  it  is  his  trade  to 


22  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

iias  proved,  by  excellent  samples  of  vulgar  arithmetic,  that  our 
manufactures  are  flourishing,  our  commerce  extending,  and  our 
felicity  consummate.  When  you  detect  the  ministers  themselves 
in  such  cross  ignorance,  as,  upon  such  authority,  to  place  an  in- 
sulting falsehood  as  it  were,  in  the  mouth  of  our  revered  sove- 
reign, what  think  you  can  be  the  fitness  of  nine  minor  imps  of 
legislation  to  make  laws  for  Ireland.  Indeed,  the  recent  plans 
of  taxation  sufficiently  evince  how  incompetent  the  present 
scheme  of  parliament  is  to  legislate  for  Ireland.  Had  we  an 
Irish  parliament,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  that  they  would 
have  adopted  taxes  at  once  oppressive  and  unproductive — ruin- 
ous to  the  country,  and  useless  to  the  crown.  No,  Sir,  an  Irish 
parliament,  acquainted  with  the  state  of  the  country,  and  indi- 
vidually interested  to  tax  proper  objects,  would  have,  even  in 
this  season  of  distress,  no  difficulty  in  raising  the  necessaiy  sup- 
plies. The  loyalty  and  good  sense  of  the  Irish  nation  would  aid 
them  ;  and  we  should  not,  as  now,  perceive  taxation  unproduc- 
tive of  money,  but  abundantly  fertile  in  discontent.  There  is 
another  subject  that  peculiarly  requires  the  attention  of  the 
legislature ;  but  it  is  one  which  can  be  managed  only  by  a  re- 
sident and  domestic  parliament — it  includes  everything  that  re- 
lates to  those  strange  and  portentous  disturbances  which,  from 
time  to  time,  affright  and  desolate  the  fairest  districts  of  the  island. 
It  is  a  delicate  and  difficult  subject,  and  one  that  would  require 
the  most  minute  knowledge  of  the  causes  that  produce  those 
disturbances,  and  would  demand  all  the  attention  and  care  01 
men,  whose  individual  safety  was  connected  with  the  discovery 
of  a  proper  remedy.  I  do  not  wish  to  calculate  the  extent  of 
evil  that  may  be  dreaded  from  the  outrages  I  allude  to,  if  our 
country  shall  continue  in  the  hands  of  foreign  empirics  and  pre- 
tenders ;  but  it  is  clear  to  a  demonstration,  that  no  man  can  be 
attached  to  his  king  and  country,  who  does  not  avow  the  neces- 
sity of  submitting  the  control  of  this  political  evil,  to  the  only 
competent  tribunal — an  Irish  parliament.  The  ills  of  this  awfiu 
moment  are  not  confined  to  our  domestic  comphaints  and  calami  ties. 
The  great  enemy  of  the  liberty  of  the  world,  extends  his  influence 
and  his  power  from  the  Frozen  Ocean  to  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar. 
He  threatens  us  with  invasion  from  the  thousand  ports  of  his  vast 
empire ;  how  is  it  possible  to  resist  him  with  an  impoverished 
divided,  and  dispirited  empire?  If,  then  you  are  loyal  to  your  ex 
cellent  monarch — if  you  are  attached  to  the  last  relic  of  political 
freedom,  can  you  hesitate  to  join  in  endeavouring  to  procure  t^ic 
remedy  ibr  all  ^our  calamities — the  sure  protection  against  all 


DANIEL  o'cOyNELt.  tSQ..  M.P.  23 


the  threats  of  your  enemy  —  the  Repeal  of  the  Union.  Yes,  re- 
store to  Irishmen  their  country,  and  you  may  well  defy  the  in- 
\ader's  force  ;  give  back  Ireland  to  her  hardy  and  brave  popufo- 
tion;  and  you  have  nothing  to  dread  from  foreign  power.  It  is 
useless  to  detain  the  meeting  longer,  in  detailing  the  miseries 
that  the  Union  has  produced,  or  in  pointing  out  the  necessity 
that  exists  for  its  Repeal.  I  have  never  met  any  man  who  di«i 
not  deplore  this  fatal  measure,  which  has  despoiled  his  country  \ 
nor  do  I  believe  that  there  is  a  single  individual  in  the  island, 
•who  could  be  found  even  to  pretend  approbation  of  that,  measure. 
I  would  be  glad  to  see  the  face  of  the  man,  or  rather  of  the  beast, 
who  could  dare  to  say  he  thought  the  Union  wise  or  good  —  for 
the  being  who  could  say  so,  must  be  devoid  of  all  the  feelings 
that  distinguish  humanity.  With  the  knowledge  that  .such  were 
the  sentiments  of  the  universal  Irish  nation,  how  does  it  happen 
that  the  Union  had  lasted  for  ten  years  ?  The  solution  of  the 
question  was  easy.  The  Union  continued  only  because  we  de- 
spaired of  its  Repeal.  Upon  this  despair  alone  had  it.  continued 
—  yet  what  could  be  more  absurd  than  such  despair?  If  the 
Irish  sentiment  be  but  once  known  —  if  the  voice  of  six  mil- 
lions be  raised  from  Cape  Clear  to  the  Giants'  Causeway  —  if  the 
men  most  remarkable  for  their  loyalty  to  their  king,  and  attach- 
ment to  constitutional  liberty,  will  come  forward  as  the  lead- 
ers of  the  public  voice,  the  nation  would,  in  an  hour,  grow 
too  great  for  the  chains  that  now  shackle  you,  and  the  Union 
must  be  repealed  without  commotion  and  without  difficulty. 
Let  the  most  timid  amongst  us  compare  the  present  probability 
of  Repealing  the  Union,  with  the  prospect  that  in  the  year  1795 
existed  of  that  measure  being  ever  brought  about.  Who,  in 
1795.  thought  an  Union  possible?  Pitt  dared  to  attempt  it, 
and  he  succeeded  ;  it  only  requires  the  resolution  to  attempt  its 
Repeal  —  in  fact,  it  requires  only  to  entertain  the  hope  of  repeal- 
ing it,  to  make  it  impossible  that  the  Union  should  continue  ; 
but  that  pleasing  hope  could  uever  exist,  whilst  the  infernal  dis- 
tensions on  the  score  of  religion  were  kept  up.  The  Protestant 
iilone  could  not  expect  to  liberate  his  country  —  the  Roman 
Catholic  alone  could  not  do  it  —  neither  could  the  Presbyterian  — 
but  amalgamate  the  three  into  the  Irishman,  and  the  Union  is 
repealed.  Learn  discretion  from  your  enemies  —  they  have  crushed 
your  country  by  fomenting  religious  discord  —  serve  her  by  aban- 
doning it  for  ever.  .Let  each  man  give  up  his  share  of  the  mis- 
chief- -let  each  man  forsake  every  feeling  of  rancour.  But,  I 
say  not  this  to  barter  with  you,  my  <v>nn*rymew  —  1  require  IK 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 


equivalent  from  you — whatever  course  you  shall  tnko.  iny  mino 
is  fixed — I  trample  under  foot  the  Catholic  claims,  if  they  can 
interfere  with  the  Repeal;  I  abandon  all  wish  for  emancipation, 
'f  it  delays  that  Repeaj.  Nay,  were  Mr.  Perceval,  to-morrow,  tc 
offer  me  the  Repeal  of  the  Union,  upon  the  terras  of  re-enactine 
the  entire  penal  code,  I  declare  it  from  my  heart,  and  in  the 
presence  of  my  God,  that  I  would  most  cheerfully  embrace  his 
offer.  Let  us  then,  my  beloved  countrymen,  sacrifice  our  wicked 
and  groundless  animosities  on  the  alttir  of  our  country — let  that 
spirit  which  heretofore  emanating  from  Dungannon  spread  ali 
over  the  island,  and  gave  light  and  liberty  to  the  land,  he  again 
cherished  amongst  us — let  us  rally  round  the  standard  of  (Hd 
Ireland,  and  we  shall  easily  procure  that  greatest  of  political 
blessings,  an  Irish  King,  an  Irish  House  of  Lords,  and  an  Irish 
House  of  Commons. — (Long-continued  applause.) 

After  Mr.  O'Connell  had  concluded  his  speech,  Sir  James  Riddall 
observed,  that  calumny  or  misrepresentation  might  be  exercised  upor 
Mr.  O'Connell's  expression  of  an  Irish  king,  and  lie,  therefore,  was 
happy  to  give  Mr.  O'Connell  an  opportunity  of  doing  justice  to  our 
most  gracious  sovereign.  Mr.  O'Connell  ardently  availed  himself  of 
the  occasion  to  pay  a  very  grateful  tribute  to  the  virtues  and  patriotism 
of  his  majesty,  and  observed,  that  if  ever  a  monarch  existed,  abounding 
in  every  great  and  good  qualification,  calculated  to  make  his  people 
happy,  that  monarch  wiw  George  the  Third. 

"  Sir  James  Riddall  then  put  the  question  separately,  that  the  address 
and  petition  should  stand  the  address  and  petitkm  of  the  meeting,  which 
was  carried  unanimously. 

"  Mr.  Hutton  then  proposed  that  a  committee  of  twenty-one  be  chosen 
as  a  standing  committee  to  co-operate  with  the  other  meetings  through- 
out the  kingdom,  which  was  unanimously  agreed  to,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  accordingly. 

"Nicholas  Mahon  rose,  and  spoke  to  the  following  effect :— Mr, 
Sheriff,  the  respect  I  feel  for  the  opinions  of  several  gentlemen  present, 
whose  liberality  I  respect,  and  by  whose  exertions  this  meeting  (which 
I  trust  will  produce  the  happiest  result)  has  been  called,  has  induced 
me  to  undertake  the  task  of  subscribing  to  your  two  resolutions,  which 
1  hold  in  my  iiand,  expressive  of  approbation  of  the  conduct  of  his  Grace 
the  Duke  of  Richmond,  since  his  appointment  to  the  government  of 
this  country.  I  beg  leave  in  making  this  motion,  to  be  distinctly  under- 
ptood  as  not  approving  of  the  measures  of  the  administration  to  which 
his  Grace  is  attached,  which  I  consider  as  most  hostile  to  the  welfare  of 
those  countries  ;  but  no  one  can  deny  his  Grace  the  possession  of  many 
amiable  social  virtues,  and  that  he  wields  the  sword  of  power  in  mercy 
and  clemency.  Without  further  nreface,  I  move  you,  Sir,  that  those 
resolutions  Le  now  rend." 


DANIEL      CONXELL,  ESQ.    M.P.  25 


PETITION  FOR  CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION. 

Ii;  the  same  year,  1810.  Mr.  O'Connell  drew  up  the  Petitioji  of  that  year,  to  the  House  of 
Commons,  for  Catholic  Emancipation.    It  ran  as  follows : — 

"  To  the  Honourable  the  Commons  of  the   United  Kingdom  of 
Great  JSriiain  and  Ireland,  in  Parliament  assembled : 

"  We,  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  on  behalf  of  our- 
selves and  of  others,  his  Majesty's  subjects,  professing  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  in  Ireland,  humbly  beg  leave  to  represent  to 
this  Honourable  House — 

"That  we,  your  petitioners,  did,  in  the  years  1805  and  1808, 
humbly  petition  this  honourable  house,  praying  the  total  aboli- 
tion of  the  penal  laws,  which  aggrieve  the  Catholics  of  Ireland. 

"  We  now  feel  ourselves  obliged,  in  justice  to  ourselves,  our 
families,  and  our  country,  once  more  to  solicit  the  attention  of 
this  honourable  house  to  the  subject  of  our  said  petition. 

"  We  state,  that  the  Roman  Catholics  constitute  the  most 
numerous  and  increasing  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland, 
comprising  an  immense  majority  of  the  manufacturing,  trading, 
and  agricultural  interests,  and  amounting  to  at  least  four-fifths 
of  the  Irish  population ;  that  they  contribute  largely  to  the 
exigencies  of  their  country,  civil  and  military ;  that  they  pay  the 
far  greater  part  of  the  public  and  local  taxes ;  that  they  supply 
the  armies  and  navies  of  this  empire  with  upwards  of  one-third 
part  in  number  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  employed  in  the  public 
S'  rvice  ;  and  that,  notwithstanding  heavy  discouragements,  they 
4  rm  the  principal  constituent  part  of  the  strength,  wealth,  and 
industry  of  Ireland. 

"  Yet  such  is  the  grievous  operation  of  the  penal  laws  of  whicii 
we  complain,  that  the  Roman  Catholics  are  thereby  not  only  set 
apart  from  their  fellow-subjects,  as  aliens  in  this  their  native  kind, 
but  are  ignominiously  and  rigorously  proscribed  from  almost  all 
situations  of  public  trust,  honour,  or  emolument,  including  every 
public  function  and  department,  from  the  houses  of  legislature, 
ibwn  to  the  most  petty  corporations. 

"  We  state,  that  whenever  the  labour  of  public  duty  is  to 
be  exacted  and  enforced,  the  Catholic  is  sought  out  and  selected  , 
'"here  honours  or  rewards  are  to  be  dispensed,  he  is  neglected 
olid  contemned. 

•'  Where  the  military  and  naval  strength  of  the  empire  is  te, 
be  recruited,  thj  Ctithclics  are  eagerly  solicited,  nay  compelled. 


9M 

SELECT  SPEECHES 


and  legztimate  prize  of  successful  valour)  are 

to 


and  accomplishing  our  effectual  relief? 

"We  do  beg  leave,  however,  most  solemnly,  to  press  upon  th 
attentionof  this  honourable  house,  the  imminent  public 


fiied  °Pinion'  that  to  re^™  to  the 

the  h  f          ,'  T81'  and  unqu»»fi«d  participation 

of  the  benefits  of  the  laws  and  constitution  of  England,  and  to 
withdraw  all  the  pnvat.ons,  restrictions,  and  vexatious  distinc- 
tions which  oppress,  injure,  and  afflict  'them  in  their  country  is 
now  become  a  measure  not  merely  expedient,  but  absolutely 
necessary-uot  only  a  debt  of  right  due  to  a  comn^ning  pTople 
but  perhaps  the  last  remaining  resource  of  this'  ,mpire,  in  the 
preservation  of  which  we  take  so  deep  an  interest 

therefore  pray  this  honourable  house  to  take  into  their 
Srtft±S  consideratlo«  «*  ^ture,  extent,  and  operation  of 
the  aforesaid  penal  laws,  and  by  repealing  the  same  altogether 
to  restore  to  the  Roman  Catholics  If  Irefand  Se  Ss  so 
long  withheld,  and  their  due  share  in  that  Constitution,  which 
they  m  common  with  their  fellow-subjects  of  every  other  de- 

,  to  sostat 


"  And  jour  petitioners  will  ever  pray. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  27 


CATHOLIC  RIGHTS. 

TB»  next  tpeech  of  any  length  (that  we  find  reported)  of  Mr  O'ConnellX  was  delivered  Lj 
the  "Catholic  Committee,"  on  the  2nd  of  February,  1811,  upon  the  question  of  again  peti- 
tioning the  Legislature  for  Catholic  rights. 

The  immediate  occasion,  however,  of  his  rising  upon  that  day,  was  a  squabble  that  had 
a-Nen  amongst  some  of  the  leading  members,  during  which  more  than  one  insinuation  had 
been  thrown  out  against  himself,  of  wanting  to  usurp  the  position  of  "leader." 

In  answer  to  this,  and  to  allay  the  paltry  bickerings  that  were  growing. more  and  i 
frequent  in  the  meetings  of  the  Committee,  and  turn  the  general  attention  to  the  real 
business  in  hand,  he  is  reported  to  have  made  the  following  address,  which  as  usual  we 
copy  verbatim  from  the  newspapers  of  the  time  :— 

Mr   O'Connell  began  by  expressing  an  anxious  hope  that  the 
discussion  of  this  day  would  be  conducted  with  good  temper, 
and  terminate  in  harmony.     His  object  was  to  stifle  every  s< 
mcnt  amongst  the  Catholic  body,  that  wotfd  militate  against 
that  cordial  spirit  of  co-operation,  which  had  hitherto  animated 
the  members  of  the  committee.     Hitherto,  at  their  meetings, 
a  difference  of  opinion  did  sometimes,  as  it  was  quite  natural, 
prevail  :  but  there  was  no  intention  of  division— and,  from  tn« 
heartfelt,  unanimity,  he  had  with  delight  beheld  ihe  *»™™* 
sertainty  of  speedy  and  complete  emancipation, 
cause  was  now  too  great  and  irresistible  to  be  destroyed,  even 
bv  the  misconduct  of  its  own  advocates.     It  had,  .indeed,  bnen 
almost  crushed  in  its  infancy,  by  distrust  and  dissension, 
sension  had  impeded  it  in  every  step  of  its  progress,  and  was  st 
the  dra^-cham  that  encumbered  and  retarded  its  movements. 
Bv  division,  the  Catholics  would  be  not  only  weakened,  but 
degraded  :  if  they  quarrelled  amongst  themselves,  they  woi 
disgust  their  friends  and  delight  their  enemies. 

Could  anything  be  imagined  more  agreeable  to  the  Well 
and  the  Percevals,  than  to  find  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  involved 
in  a  wrangle  amongst  themselves— than  to  see  them  engaged  in 
attacking  and  vilifying  one  another,  when  every  faculty  of  their 
minds  ought  to  be  directed  to  concert  one  combined  effort 
fill  the  Irish  people  to  put  down  their  enemies,  and  to  procure, 
m  a  constitutional  course,  their  Emancipation.     He  did    there 
fore  coniure  the  gentlemen  who  had  brought  forward  the  pre- 
sent question  to  revert  to  that  subject,  for  which  the  committee 
had  been  originally  framed,  namely,  the  petition  ;  and  to  suffer 
that  to  proceed,  without  embarking  in  discussions  that  could 
not  be  productive  of  advantage.     He  expected  from  those  gentle- 
Tien,  that  they  would,  when  they  contemplated  the  trmmpn  to 
,nar  enemies  and  the  mischief  to  the  Catholics,  which  must  ensue 


28  SELECT  SPEECHES*  OP 

froia  dissension,  abandon  that  species  of  crimination  and  attack, 
which  had  been  that  day,  for  the  first  time,  introduced  into  the 
committee.  The  charges  that  were  made,  even  supposing  them 
founded,  could  be  obviated,  if  those  gentlemen  would,  themselves, 
take  the  trouble  of  attending  in  future.  But  he  must  say,  that 
the  gentlemen  who  did  attack  the  committee,  were  altogethei 
mistaken.  The  fact  was,  that  the  committee  stands  high  in  the 
public  opinion — and  that  this  estimation  was  founded  on  impor- 
tant services  and  pure  exertions — upon  a  painful  sacrifice  of  the 
time  and  labour  of  the  individuals — and  upon  the  more  painful 
exposure  which  they  made  of  themselves,  to  every  shaft  of 
calumny  and  ridicule,  from  the  mean,  mercenary,  and  malig- 
nant hirelings  of  the  enemies  of  the  Catholics. 

With  respect  to  that  part  of  the  Irish  Catholic  bar,  which 
took  a  part  in  the  labours  of  the  committee,  he  would  not  say  a 
word  in  its  vindication  :  for  his  own  part,  he  should  be  most 
grateful  if  the  bar  were  altogether  to  be  excluded  from  Catholic 
politics — and  it  would  be  easy  to  exclude  them.  If  the  noble 
lord  could  spare  time  from  his  other  avocations,  to  attend  the 
affairs  of  the  Catholics,  he,  for  one,  would  rejoice  at  their  being 
placed  in  such  excellent  hands  ;  and  would  then  think  himself 
;ustified  in  devoting  himself,  exclusively,  to  his  professional  pur- 
suits. All  he  wished  to  see  was,  that  gentlemen  would  jome 
forward,  and  take  upon  themselves  the  trouble  of  advancing  the 
Catholic  concerns ;  but  it  really  was  rather  severe  that  gentleman. 
who  avowed  that  they  themselves  had  not  leisure  to  attend  to 
the  business  of  the  Catholics,  should  charge  those  who,  with  a 
disinterested  zeal,  had  made,  and  were  ready  to  make  a  sacrifice 
of  their  time  and  exertions,  with  being  animated  with  the  pitiful 
ambition  of  leadership.  No — that  was  a  contemptible  object; 
and  he  had  no  difficulty  in  culling  on  the  all-seeing  Deity  to 
attest  the  truth  of  his  assertion,  that  the  conscientious  discharge 
of  duty  to  an  afflicted  country,  was  his  leading  motive  to  come 
forward ;  and  that  neither  he  nor  his  children  should  ever  be 
reproached,  with  truth,  for  having  committed  the  cause  of  the 
Catholics  into  any  advantage  of  a  personal  nature  to  himself. 

Neither  did  the  committee  deserve  any  part  of  the  reproaches 
cast  upon  them  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  had  done  theii  duty  well. 
The  cause  of  the  Catholic  soldiery  attracted  their  attention- — 
they  exposed  to  view  the  gross  violations  of  the  law,  which  were 
dully  committed  with  respect  to  Catholic  soldiers — the  really 
patriotic  prints  of  the  metropolis  joined  in  the  cause — and  the 
result  has  boeu,  that  even  the  Wellesley  administration  iii  fliis 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  29 

country  have  condescended  so  far  as  to  recognise  the  law  of  the 
land  in  their  military  orders ;  and  now  the  Catholic  soldiers  in 
Ireland  are  allowed  to  serve  their  king,  without  being  called  on 
for  any  violation  of  their  consciences.  No  petty  tyrant,  dressed 
in  a  little  brief  authority,  could  now  indulge  his  vile  bigotry,  by 
compelling  the  defenders  of  their  king  and  country  to  abandon 
what  they  conceived  to  be  their  duty  to  their  God. 

Was  this  no  service  ?  Did  the  committee  deserve  no  thanks 
for  this  ? — or  rather,  was  it  not  an  earnest  of  what  the  committee 
\ad  still  to  do,  and  would  do,  in  redressing  other  oppressions,  if 
.heir  cause  was  not  impeded  by  division  and  dissension  ?  At 
all  events,  we  had  a  right  to  call  upon  those  who  impeached  the 
committee,  to  state  in  what  respect  they  had  done  even  so  much 
for  the  Catholic  cause.  Let  them  state  their  services,  and  he 
would  return  them  thanks,  and  not  impeachment.  But,  Sir,  the 
committee  have  not  confined  their  exertions  to  this  single  sub- 
ject. We  have  framed,  in  very  firm  and  constitutional  language, 
the  petition  which  has  been  already  signed  by  thousands  :  we 
have  already  procured  illustrious  personages  in  both  houses  of 
parliament,  to  take  charge  of  it ;  and  it  is  now  actually  ready 
for  transmission  to  England.  There  was  another  subject  which 
engrossed  much  of  our  attention  :  it  was  the  placing  before  the 
empire  and  the  world,  the  present  oppressed  and  degraded  state 
of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  in  all  its  emaciating  details.  It 
appeared  to  him  that  the  principal  cause  which  had  hitherto 
prevented  the  emancipation  of  the  Catholics,  was  the  strange 
ignorance  of  our  situation,  under  which  our  warmest  friends 
laboured.  Even  our  best  and  brightest  advocate,  that  ornament 
to  Ireland,  Henry  Grattan  himself,  laboured  under  this  mistake : 
Mr.  Ponsonby,  too,  who  has  exerted  himself  so  strenuously  in  the 
Catholic  cause,  appears  to  be  equally  ignorant.  It  is  to  me, 
therefore,  not  at  all  surprising,  that  the  Edinburgh  reviewers 
should  have  fallen  into  the  same  error,  so  that  they  stated  more 
than  once,  in  their  late  most  admirable  essay  on  the  subject,  that 
the  Catholics  were  excluded  from  only  about  forty  offices,  besides 
the  houses  of  parliament. 

Notwithstanding  this,  to  them  almost  inevitable  error,  their? 
was  a  most  admirable  discussion — it  was  a  specimen  of  that 
inestimable  logic,  that  clear  arrangement  of  the  subject,  and  that 
conclusive  display  of  proofs  with  which  that  work  abounded  ; 
tut  what  would  it  have  been  if  they  were  informed  of  our  real 
situation  ;  my  praise  of  those  reviewers  must  be  allowed  to  be 
unbiassed.  I  differ  from  them  on  the  subject  of  the  vet.?,  find 


3D  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

would  undertake  to  convince  any  of  them  that  1  am  right.  I 
also  easily  see  myself  amongst  those  whom  they  style  •'  bombastic 
counsellors  ;"  and  I  smile  to  see  how  happily  they  have  described 
that  fustian  and  rant,  which  I  am  in  the  habit,  as  at  present,  oi 
obtruding  upon  your  meetings.  But,  notwithstanding  this 
attack,  which  I  admit  to  be  personal,  I  do  most  sincerely  and 
cordially  thank  them  for  their  exertions.  It  is  not  in  the  nature 
of  popular  fbeliiig  to  continue  long  its  gratitude  ;  but  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying,  that  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  deserve  to  be 
slaves,  if  they  ever  fbrget  what  they  owe  to  the  writers  of  that 
article.  Let  me,  however,  repeat  my  regret,  that  its  effect  should 
have  been  weakened  by  the  erroneous  view  which  those  writers 
took  of  our  situation.  It  is  strange  enough,  that  when  they 
Contributed  so  considerably  to  the  repeal  of  the  slave  trade/  they 
yere  found  to  be  perfectly  conversant  with  the  savage  tribes  of 
Raarta  and  Bambana  ;  and  that  they  were  able  to  give  disserta- 
tions on  the  police  of  the  barbaric  cities  of  Sego  and  Timbuctoo, 
and  yet  are  so  deplorably  ignorant  of  the  condition  of  the  white 
slaves  of  Ireland. 

We  have  another  excellent  advocate  in  England — an  advocate 
whom  we  could  bribe  only  one  way,  with  the  justice  of  our  cause — 
I  mean  William  Cobbett.     It  is  truly  important  to  us  that  hia 
exertions  should  not  be  paralyzed  by  ignorance  of  our  wants. 
The  moment  we  can  show  him  the  extent  of  our  oppressions,  we 
furnish  him  with  materials  to  ensure  our  triumph — and  it  must 
be  admitted  that  we  could  not  have  a  more  useful  advocate. 
When  he  is  right,  he  is  irresistibly — there  is  a  strength  and  clear- 
ness in  the  way  he  puts  every  topic  ;  he  is  at  once  so  convincing, 
and  yet  so  familiar,  that  the  dullest  can  understand,  and  eveii 
tne  bigot  must  be  convinced.     But  what  has  deservedly  raised 
him  high  in  public  estimation,  is  the  manly  candour  with  which 
ho  avows  and  retracts  any  opinion  that  he  discovers  to  be  erro- 
neous.    I  can  hardly  conceive  a  greater  proof  of  sound  under- 
standing and  perfect  honesty  than  such  conduct ;  but  what  has 
been  his  fate  ?     Why,  he  has  advocated  your  cause,  and  is  suffer 
ing  under  an  atrocious  sentence — indeed,  in  the  history  of  mo- 
dern times,  a  sentence  so  disproportionate  with  the  offence,  as 
to  excite  horror  and  disgust  in  the  mind  of  every  man  who  heard 
it — a  sentence  which  actually  has  the  effect  of  converting  th' 
object  of  it,  from  being  the  victim  of  just  law,  into  the  martyi 
of  some  unpopular,  and  therefore  hated  cause.    What  a  besotted, 
benumbed  people  these  English  are  !     They  heard  the  sentence 
.urtmouuced  :  two  lonpr  weary  years'  imprisoi./.ieut  for  a  libel  or 


L  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M,P.  31 

the  German  legion  !  They  saw  the  victim  conveyed  to  his  dun- 
geon j  the  fountain  of  mercy  was  there,  yet  there  was  no  address, 
QO  petition  to  the  throne  for  its  interference — neither  has  this 
subject  yet  been  brought  before  either  house  of  Parliament. 

Upon  this  subject  I  confess  1  have  been  led  away  by  my  feel- 
ings ;  but  as  1  have  wandered,  allow  me  to  indulge  in  relating 
to  you  the  fate  of  another  public  character.  A  certain  laad- 
calf,  of  the  name  of  Sparke,  pronounced  and  published,  some 
two  years  ago,  a  dissertation  in  bad  Latin,  in  which  he  strenu- 
ously advised  that  Catholics  should  be  turned  out  of  every  civil 
situation  ;  and  that  they  should  be  expelled  from  the  army  and 
navy  !  Upon  what  grounds,  think  you  ?  Why,  as  the  enemies 
of  everything  human  and  divine  !  Here  was  a  libel — a  libel 
most  admirably  calculated  to  serve  the  interests  of  Bonaparte, 
by  depriving  us,  at  a  single  blow,  of  at  least  three-fourths  of  our 
army  and  navy.  You  imagine,  of  course,  that  he  was  punished 
— that  the  Attorney-General  prosecuted  him,  and  called  for  a 
vindictive  sentence  in  the  name  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  that 
he  conjured  up  the  shades  of  the  Catholics  who  bled  at  Aboukir 
and  Trafalgar — who  bravely  fought  and  greatly  died  at  Vimiera 
and  Talavera,  to  scream  for  vengeance.  You  suppose  that  thin 
worthy  divine  was  sentenced  to  at  least  one  fortnight's  impri- 
sonment. Oh,  no,  you  are  mistaken — he  was  only  made  a  bishop, 
and  he  will  soon  have  to  give  his  enlightened  vote  on  our  peti- 
tion to  the  lords.  Mr.  O'Connell  entreated  pardon  for  th  us 
wandering  from  the  subject — his  object  was  to  show  the  labours 
and  services  of  the  committee  ;  and  he  had  pointed  out  the  state 
of  ignorance  in  which  our  advocates  were,  with  respect  to  Catho- 
lic privations.  It  was  unnecessary  to  enlarge  on  the  utility  of 
giving  accurate  information  on  the  subject.  The  committee  felt 
that  they  had  this  duty  to  discharge,  and  they  have,  with  no 
small  labour,  completed  it.  He  held  in  his  hand  the  volume  of 
near  two  hundred  pages,  which  they  had  compiled  on  the  sub- 
ject and  if  the  meeting  would  suffer  him,  he  would  undertake 
to  ujmonstrate  that  the  committee  had  exerted  itself  with  much 
attention  and  labour.  If  he  was  suffered,  he  would  shortly  state 
an  abstract,  taken  from  their  report,  of  the  offices  of  trust,  honour, 
and  emolument,  from  which  the  Catholics  are  excluded,  and 
which  even  our  friends  estimate  so  low  as  about  forty,  but  which, 
in  truth,  amount,  when  the  influence,  as  well  as  the  positive 
enactment  of  the  penal  code,  is  considered,  to  upwards  of  thirty 
thousand.  If  it  did  not  weary  the  meeting,  he  would  now  g- 
into  detail.— (A  gennral  cry  uf  'go  on,  go  on.')  Mr.  0'Comit.ii 


32  BELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

in  continuation,  said,  being  encouraged,  he  would  proceed 
the  abstract.  The  first  thing  that  offered  itself  was  the  parlia- 
ment. From  seats  in  both  houses  the  Catholics  were  exchrdcd, 
amounting  to  900  ;  next  came  the  offices  in  corporations.  We 
are,  in  Dublin,  excluded  from  the 

Offices  of  Lord  Mayor  aud  Aldermen,      .         .        .        .24 

Sheriffs  and  Sub-Sheriffs,      r  V 3 

Sheriff's  Peers,       ........    38 

Common  Council,    •        .  .....    96 

Recorder, 1 

Treasurer, .1 

Town  Clerks 2 

Masters  and  Wardens  of  Guilds, 73 

Total  ...        .         .238 

There  are,  I  think,  86  other  corporate  cities  and  towns  in  Irelandi 
which,  at  the  low  average  rate  of  32  officers  in  each,  from  which 
Catholics  are  by  law  excluded,  amount  to  2752  ;  giving  a  total, 
under  positive  exclusion  of  3083.  But  if  a  more  accurate  vi(rw 
of  the  other  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  corporation,  or  confided  to 
them,  be  taken,  it  will  be  found  that  Catholics  are,  by  the  spirit 
and  operation  of  the  law,  if  not  by  the  letter  of  it,  excluded  from 
those  latter  offices — as,  for  example,  in  Dublin — 

President  of  the  Court  of  Conscience,  his  Secretary  and  Clerk, 

(worth  two  thousand  pounds  per  annum,)   ...       2 
Lord  Mayor's  Secretary  .        .        »...*.,      .        .        .       1 

Police  Justices, 12 

Their  Secretaries  and  Clerks,  .         .  •     .         .         .         .12 

City  Officers,  as  Constables,  Sword-bearer,  &c.,  (see  Red  Book),  27 
Cranes,  ....  ....      4 

Pipe-water  Board, 


22 
3 

16 
13 


Public  Money  Yards,  &c., 

Ballast  Office, 

Paring  Board  and  Offices, 

Grand  Jury,  with  very  few  exceptions,  and  other  public 

boards,  offices,  and  clerks,         .        .        .        ...    50 

Amounting  to        162 

Add  to  those  similar  offices  in  the  other  86  corporations  of; 

Ireland,  averaged  at  only  32  to  each,  amounting  to    .        2752 

Total  .  .  "r.      ...        2914 

Thirdly — There  are  in  the  profession  and  administration  of 
,he  law-officers,  from  which  we  are  directly  excluded  : — 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  33 

Lord  Chancellor, 

Master  of  the  Rolls, 1 

Law  Judges, 12 

Sergeants, 9 

King's  Counsel,  (now)     ....  .     28 

Masters  in  Chancery, 4 

Attorney  and  Solicitor-General, 2 

Counsel  to  the  Commons,        .       >        .        .        .         .2 

Chairman  of  Kilmaiiiham,        •      '. •  •    V  r     •         .         .       1 
Sheriffs  of  Counties,        .     :    .        .        .        ,        .        .32 
Sub-Sheriffs,  .         .        .      .  *"'.  .:  -     ..       .         >    32 

Advocates  in  the  Spiritual  Court,     ,.        .,       .        .        .20 
Proctors  in  Dublin,         ...        .     ..  n        .        .      9 

Proctors  in  the  country,  ....        .        .40 

Notary  Public, .66 

Law  Officers  in  the  Spiritual  Courts — the  jurisdiction  of  these 
Courts  extend  over  temporal  matters,  .  .  .109 

Total  .        .         ,        .        .^  .      '358 

Add  to  those  a  number  of  Officers  under  the  patronage  prin- 
cipally of  the  foregoing;  which,  although  the  profession 
of  the  law  is  not  unequivocally  liberal,  yet  Catholics 
are  almost  uniformly  excluded  from  such  as  Assistant 
Barristers  of  Counties,  Assistant  Counsel  Coroners, 
Law  Clerks  in  the  Law  and  Equity  Offices  in  Counties, 
(see  Red  Book,)  amounting,  at  least,  to  .  «  .  TOO 

Total  .        .        .     .  .        J        .        1058 

The  next  class  I  shall  mention  is  that  of  the  officers  in  the  army 
and  navy.  It  is  notorious  that  the  Catholics  contribute  very 
largely  in  money  and  men,  to  those  services.  The  number  of 
officers  may  be  thus  estimated.  In  the  army  the  regiments  are 
thus  :— 

Life  Guards, •      2 

Horse  Guards, ^     '  >      1 

Dragoon  Guards, «        ,    K  7 

Dragoons, 24 

Foot  Guards, 3 

Foot, 131 

Artillery, .3 

Irish  Militia,  from  several  of  the  commissions  in  which  Ca- 
tholics are  absolutely  excluded,  •+.  .  .  .  .28 

Total  .     .v      ;.      -.        .        .  1SJ 

Several  of  tne  regiments  have  two,  three,  or  more  battalions,  so 
.hat  the  entire  may  be  estimated  at  200  battalions;  ana  must 
contain  7500  commissioned  officers,  from  which  deduct  100  for 


^4  SELECT  SPEECHES*  OP 

Catholic  officers  in  the  Irish  militia,  it  will  leave  7400.  And  it 
is  quite  manifest  that  the  proportion  of  100  Catholic  officers  in 
che  Irish  militia,  is  a  great  exaggeration.  Add  the  paymasters, 
,/ofiimissariat  department,  the  staff,  storekeepers,  contractors,  <fec. 
under  the  same  patronage,  amounting,  at  least,  to  1600;  amount 
ing,  in  the  entire,  to  9000.  In  the  Davy,  the  officers  may  be 
thus  estimated  :  —  There  are  in  commission,  about  900  ships.  At 
a  very  moderate  average  there  are  ten  officers  to  a  ship,  being 
9000  ;  admirals,  «kc.,  about  200  ;  add  the  dockyard  establish- 
ments, the  companies  of  marines,  the  pursers,  and  the  other 
officers  dependent  on  the  naval  departments,  amounting  to  3800  ; 
amounting,  in  the  entire,  to  13,000.  There  are  other  offices  01 
trust,  honour,  and  emolument,  from  which  the  Catholics  are  ex- 
eluded  :  — 


Lieutenant,     .     •  -  "«.  "  •'  ;.  ;'vy  »         .     ',."'.  1 

Lords  of  the  Treasury,     .         .     ?  .  '  .    •  .  .        .      8 

Governors  of  Counties,  (now)          j^  -  i  •     -  •      „  •     ;>•     38 
Privy  Councillors,  including  Duigenan,     ....     90 

Fellows  of  Trinity  College,      .        t:      .        .        .        .28 

Scholars  of  ditto,     .         .         .     '    .'.•.'.        .     60 
Postmasters-  General,       .         .     •'-.••'      .        ^       .     ?  £      2 
Teller  of  the  Exchequer,         .        .        .      •'«/..'.".       1 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  ,    '     •        •        .        .       1 

Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal,     *  ¥  \     .....      1 

Vice  Treasurer,      ........       1 

Auditor-  General,     ........       1 

Custodes  Rotulorum,       .    .    .       ,.        .        .        .  16 

Secretary  of  State,          .         .        .        .        .        .        .1 

Secretary  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant,    .        .  .        .2 

Total  .....   V  .  251 

I  am  sure  I  can  be  reproached  only  with  having  too  far  dimi- 
nished the  dependent  offices  from  which  the  Catholics  are  ex- 
cluded under  this  head,  when  I  state  them  only  at  2060.  Catholic? 
ars  excluded  from  the  following  offices  :  — 

Directly.  Indirectly. 

1,  Parliament,    .  .     900 


2.  Corporations, 

3.  Law, 

4.  Army,    . 
6.  Navy, 


.  3152 
.  358 
.  7400 
.  9200 


6.  Other  Offices  enumerated,  251 


1829 
700 
1600 
3000 
2000 


Thus  giving  a  total  of  offices  from  which  Catholics  are 
excluded,  by  positive  enactment,  of         .         .        .  21,26) 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  35 

And  of  offices  from  which  they  are  almost,  with  equal 
certainty  excluded,  by  the  spirit  and  operation  of  the 
?aw,  amounting  to  ......  '  9,229 

Amounting,  in  the  entire,  to  .         .  30,490 

Let  it  be  recollected,  that  in  giving  this  statement,  we  abstain  alto- 
gether from  the  situations  which  belong,  of  right,  to  the  Established 
Church.  We  should  be  sorry  to  see  any  similar  law  created  for  our 
,  and  we  most  assuredly  do  not  seek  to  disturb  those  that  exist/* 


There  is  another  important  branch  in  the  political  economy 
of  this  country,  from  which  the  Catholics  ai'e  almost  altogether 
excluded  ;  it  relates  to  the  collection  ana  distribution  of  the  public 
money.  There  are  annually  about  sir  millions  raised  on  the 
Irish  people  —  of  these,  it  is  said,  that  ouly  four  millions,  or  13s. 
4d.  in  the  pound,  reach  the  treasury.  There  are,  besides,  four 
millions  annually  borrowed  in  England,  for  Ireland,  and  expended 
in  this  country;  so  that  there  seems,  taken  together,  a  sum,  mak- 
ing altogether  ten  millions,  is  collected  and  managed,  almost 
exclusively  by  Protestants;  there  not  being,  I  dare  say,  at  the  ut- 
most, twenty  Catholics  em  ployed  in  such  collection  or  management. 
I  am  sure  I  should  grossly  exaggerate  it,  were  I  to  say  there  were 
twenty  ;  amongst  other  reasons,  because  I  have  already  shown 
that  the  far  greater  number  of  the  offices  attached  to  that  collec- 
tion and  management,  are  by  the  law  sl...t  against  the  Caiholics  ; 
so  that  we  have  ten  millions  yearly,  the  principal  of  no  less  than 
six  millions  of  which  are  raised  from  the  inhabitants  of  this  land, 
and  the  interest  of  the  entire  of  which  is  charged  upon  them  and 
their  descendants  in  perpetuity.  We  have  these  ten  millions 
oppressive  to  all,  and  emolumentary  uiily  to  a  few  of  the  Pro 
testants.  Let  it  also  be  recollected,  that  the  four  millions  which 
p  re  paid  into  the  Irish  treasury,  have  a  second  operation,  for  of 
course  they  are  paid  out  again  in  discharge  of  the  expenditure 
of  the  state  ;  but  the  management  of  such  payment  is  also  in  the 
hands  of  the  members  of  the  Established  Church  ;  so  that,  in  fact, 
we  are  thus  excluded  from  the  management,  and  all  the  advan- 
tages that  result  from  the  management  of  fourteen  millions  of 
money  annually,  taking  into  consideration  the  second  operation  of 
the  four  millions  raised  in  Ireland.  The  committee  have  entered 
into  various  details  to  illustrate  and  prove  their  statements  ; 
they  do  not  omit  to  treat  often  of  the  insult  that  the  parade  of 
Orange  anniversaries,  and  the  commemoration  of  ancient  feuds, 
excite  and  perpetuate  ;  but  above  all,  they  have  investigated  th* 
;lf-plorable  situation  of  Ilio  inferior  orders  of  Ca^-.olics  in  the^ 


36  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

towns,  particularly  in  the  north,  on  those  days  devoted  to  the 
celebration  of  Orange  festivals  ;  when  the  lower  order  of  those 
systematic  oppressors  meet  together  for  the  purpose,  according 
to  the  phrase  used  by  some  of  themselves,  at  a  late  trial  al 
Omagh,  "  of  making  Orangemen"  The  committee  has  remarked, 
too,  on  the  degrading  situation  in  which  the  Irish  Catholic  offi- 
cers, who  go  to  England  with  their  regiments,  are  placed.  There, 
they  must  quit  the  service,  or  violate  their  consciences,  whilst 
they  see  German  soldiers  enjoy  complete  toleration  in  the  Catho- 
jc  religion;  as  if  the  conscience  of  a  German  was  declared  by 
law  to  be  worthy  of  respect,  that  of  the  Irish,  of  none ;  why  else 
do  the  pious  Perceval,  and  holy  Wilberforce,  consent  to  allow 
Popery  in  the  German  legion,  and  persecute  it  amongst  the  loyal 
Irish  ?  It  is  our  anxious  wish  that  some  of  the  class  of  hirelings 
who  do  the  dirty  work  of  the  Wellesleys  and  the  Percevals,  shall 
have  tne  audacity  to  contradict  the  facts  which  our  statement 
contains.  We  challenge  them  to  that  contradiction  ;  all  we  en- 
treat is,  that  they  will  come  to  particulars ;  but  if  they  do  not 
— if  they  protect  themselves  by  general  denials,  we  are  ready 
with  the  proofs  of  each  and  every  assertion.  I  entreat  the  in- 
dulgence of  the  meeting  for  this  lengthened  trespass  on  their 
patience.  I  hope  I  have  shown  that  the  committee  has  not 
neglected  its  duty;  it  has  assisted  to  relieve  the  soldiery  from 
the  oppressions  under  which  they  laboured — it  has  prepared  the 
petition,  and  made  every  arrangement  for  its  presentation — and 
it  has  ready  for  publication,  a  detailed  statement  of  the  penalties 
and  persecutions  under  which  the  Catholics  suffer ;  yet,  whilst 
we  do  thus  suffer — whilst  the  multiplicity  and  weight  of  our 
chains  may  affright  even  our  enemies,  we,  wretched  slaves  that 
we  are,  instead  of  combining  heart  and  hand  to  procure  redress 
and  relief  are  about  to  engage  in  a  miserable  warfare  among  our- 
selves. The  old  curse  of  the  Catholics  is,  I  fear,  about  to  be  re- 
newed ;  division,  that  made  us  what  we  are,  and  keeps  us  so,  is 
again  to  rear  its  standard  amongst  us  ;  but  it  was  thus  always 
with  the  Irish  Catholics.  I  recollect,  that  in  reading  the  life  of 
the  great  Duke  of  Ormond,  as  he  is  called,  I  was  forcibly  struck 
with  a  despatch  of  his,  transmitted  about  the  year  1661,  when 
ne  was  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland.  It  was  written  to  vindicate 
himself  from  a  charge  of  having  favoured  the  Papists,  and  having 
given  them  permission  to  hold  a  public  meeting  in  Dublin.  His 
answer  is  remarkable.  He  rejects  with  disdain  the  foul  caJufony 
of  being  a  favourer  of  Papists  ;  though  he  admits  he  garo  them 
Ifeave  to  meet :  "  because,  said  he.  "  I  know  by  experience,  ttot 


DANIEL  O  CONNER,  i&JQ.,  M.f.  37 

the  Irish  Papists  never  meet,  without  dividing  and  degrading 
thsmselves."  I  quote  the  words  of  the  official  despatch  ;  I  cau 
lay  my  finger  on  the  very  spot,  in  "  Carte's  Life  of  Ormond." 

One  hundred  and  fifty  years  have  since  elapsed,  and  we  are 
Btill  in  thraldom,  .because  no  experience  can,  I  fear,  cure  us  of 
this  wretched  disposition  to  divide.  He  entreated  of  the  respect- 
able gentlemen  who  that  day  attended  the  committee,  to  consi- 
der that  their  mistakes,  if  they  had  made  any,  ought  not  to  be 
visited  with  so  grievous  a  calamity,  as  that  of  creating  dissension 
amongst  them.  But  in  point  of  fact,  of  what  was  the  committee 
accused?  Why,  that  they,  having  been  expressly  entrusted  with 
the  management  of  Catholic  affairs,  had  thought  it  prudent  and 
wise  to  consult,  not  the  citizens  of  Dublin  alone,  but  the  Catho- 
lic inhabitants  of  every  county  in  Ireland.  Had  not  the  coun- 
ties of  Tipperary,  and  Kerry,  and  Clare,  and  Carlow,  and  Kil- 
kenny, as  good  a  right  to  be  consulted  with,  and  beard,  as  the 
city  of  Dublin;  and  he  appealed  to  the  good  sense  of  every  man 
present,  whether  it  must  not  have  the  worst  effect  on  the  Catho- 
lic mind,  if  any  gentlemen  shall  continue  to  insist,  as  they  did 
that  day,  tnat  an" aggregate  meeting  in  Dublin  was  all-powerful, 
that  it  was  "  tlie  people."  and  that  the  Catholics  of  the  different 
counties  had  no  right  to  contribute  to  the  foundation  of  the  gene- 
mi  committee.  The  objection  in  point  of  form  to  encreasiug  the 
committee,  would  have  weight  but  for  the  state  of  the  law.  The 
managers  of  the  petitions  appointed  by  the  counties  were  not 
delegates,  and  could  not  act  in  a  representative  capacity ;  but 
this  was  only  because  the  law  prevented  the  Catholics  from 
choosing  delegates,  and  holding  a  representative  assembly.  It 
should,  however,  be  recollected,  that  a  precisely  similar  objection 
lay  against  the  committee  appointed  by  the  aggregate  meeting 
for  neither  were  they  delegates  or  representatives.  If  they  in- 
sisted on  the  country,  they  would  only  expose  themselves  to  the 
hazard  of  an  indictment,  with  the  certainty  of  being  convicted. 
This  was  the  distinct  answer  to  the  maxim,  the  trite  and  quaint 
maxim  which  no  person  disputed,  that  a  deputy  could  not  con- 
stitute a  deputy.  The  fact  was,  that  there  were  not,  and  could 
not  be  any  deputies  in  the  committee.  In  the  present  state  of 
the  law,  we  could  only  regret  that  delegation  was  forbidden — but 
we  should  cot  be  driven,  even  by  this  impeachment,  to  violate 
the  law.  Hid  expose  the  Catholic  committee  to  a  prosecution.  It 
Assured!/  could  not  be  the  intention  of  the  gentlemen  to  drive  the 
commiibtt  into  that  predicament.  It  was  impossible  not  to  be 
aenaible  that  be  had  already  consumed  too  much  of  the  time  of 


?8  bELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Ibe  meeting;  he  should  therefore  rapidly  conclude  by  moving 
the  order  of  the  day,  namely — "That  the  Catholic  petition  be 
forthwith  presented  to  parliament."  He  was  anxious  to  plan 
that  out  of  the  way  of  dissension.  Indeed  the  cry  of  no  petition, 
like  u  somewhat  similar  cry  in  another  quailer,  had,  it  was  sup- 
posed by  the  country,  been  the  watchword  of  party  in  Dublin, 
it  was  strongly  suspected  by  many  well-meaning  persons,  that 
such  cry  was  used  for  the  sole  purpose  of  serving  as  a  rallying 
word;  and  this  suspicion  unfortunately  justified  in  some  mea 
sure  by  the  change  that  had  taken  place  in  the  arguments  used -to 
oppose  the  petition.  Formerly,  gentlemen  talked  for  hours  in 
praise  cf  "  dignified  silence,"  and  of  "  frowning  upon  their  ene- 
mies," and  of  "  muttering  curses  deep  not  loud."  Now,  iiideed, 
their  faces  were  decked  in  smiles ;  they  were  smoothing  their 
whiskers,  and  putting  them  on  the  peace  establishment ;  they 
talked  of  delicacy,  and  with  courtly  air,  entreated  that  we  would 
not  embarrass  our  friends  of  the  new  administration.  Sir,  I 
know  but  of  one  embarrassment  in  this  nation — and  that  arises 
from  the  state  of  weakness  and  distraction  the  empire  suffers 
from  the  political  injustice  inflicted  on  the  Catholics.  I  know 
but  of  one  embarrassment  to  the  Catholics,  and  that  arises  from 
the  state  of  inferiority  and  degradation  in  which  the  criminal 
neglect  of  our  just  right  leaves  us.  I  know  too,  but  of  one 
course  to  procure  emancipation.  It  is  the  open,  manly,  and 
constitutional  right  of  petition.  If  you  petition  session  after 
session,  you  take  away  all  pretext  for  intrigue  *nd  cabal  amongst 
yourselves  ;  all  rational  hope  of  managing  a  party  amongst  us 
from  your  enemies,  and  also  from  your  falsehearted  friends  ;  and 
for  my  partj  my  humble  opinion  is  decided,  that  you  should  con- 
•iuue  to  repeat  your  demands  for  liberty,  until  every  grievance 
shall  be  extinguished,  and  every  trace  of  religious  oppression  an- 
nihilated. It  was,  however,  right  to  observe  that  if  the  country 
differed  with  hira  on  this  subject,  they  ought  in  justice  to  be 
heard.  It  was  imperative  on  the  committee  to  lay  the  petition 
before  parliament ;  but  no  discussion  could  take  place  upon  it 
till  after  the  Easter  recess ;  in  fact,  until  the  middle  of  next 
Vlay.  In  the  interim,  the  managers  for  each  county  would  be 
able  to  ascertain  the  sentiments  of  their  respective  neighbour- 
hoods ;  and  should  it  appear  to  be  the  will  of  the  majority  of 
the  Catholics,  that  the  discussion  of  our  petition  should  be  de- 
'brred  for  another  year,  why  the  example  set  by  the  English  Ca- 
tholics last  session  may  be  adopted,  and  the  petition  allowed  to 
lie  on  the  tabij  for  the  present.  He  must  say  that  he  would 


DANIEL  O'COSSELL,  ES<*\,  M.JT. 

regret  any  such  determination,  as  our  claims,  if  imdcrstood. 
•vliich  they  could  be  but  by  discussion  in  parliament,  are  really 
invincible.  But  he  never  would  set  up  his  own  opinion  against 
that  of  the  majority,  or  even  against  that  of  any  considerable 
portion  of  the  Catholic  body. 

He  then  concluded  by  reminding  gentlemen,  that  every  autho- 
rity, human  and  divine,  spoke  trumpet-tongued  of  the  evils  of 
dissension  ;  and  he  conjured  the  meeting,  as  they  wished  to  be 
true  to  their  country,  and  to  their  God,  not  to  divide,  and  dis- 
tract fellow-labourers  and  fellow-slaves. 

Mr.  O'Connell  finally  prevailed,  though  not  -without  a  division,  on  which,  however,  th«r* 
was  a  considerable  majority  against  Mr.  Clinch's  amerdraent. 

According  to  a  resolution  of  a  previous  meeting  (on  the  29th  December,  in  the  preceding 
year,  1810),  the  petition  was  to  be  entrusted  to  Mr.  Grattan.  for  presentation  in  the  Cora 


THE  FRENCH  PARTY. 

A  SHOUT  speeut  u.  Mr.  O'Connell's  at  the  meeting  just  referred  to— viz.,  that  of  December, 
1810,  may  (without  any  more  extended  notice  of  the  meeting  itself)  be  here  inserted,  M 
one  of  the  many  links  of  the  chain  of  evidence  we  trust  this  collection  of  his  public  »;*ts 
will  be  found  to  afford,  in  proof  of  how  undeviatinglv  he  always,  while  working  for  Irelani, 
looked  to  and  endeavoured  to  serve  the  best  interest  of  the  empire  at  large. 

Mr.  O'Connell  said,  that  what  had  fallen  from  the  learned  gen- 
tleman (Nicholas  Purcell  0' Gorman,  Esq.,)  who  had  preceded 
him,  required  some  observation.  He  (Mr.  O'Gorman)  had  sup- 
posed that  the  French  party,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Grattan,  was,  by 
our  enemies,  alleged  to  exist  among  the  Catholics  of  Ireland. 
This  was  an  assertion  which  he,  Mr.  O'Connell,  said  he  mus? 
controvert.  There  did  not  exist,  even  among  the  mean  and 
miserable  herd  of  the  adversaries  of  the  Catholics,  any  man  scr 
shameless  as  to  assert  that  a  French  party  could  be  found 
amongst  us.  In  truth  nothing  could  be  more  obvious  than  that 
the  only  genuine  and  effective  bwtfi-Gaflican  party  in  Ireland 
was  that  of  the  Catholics — for  their  object  is  to  consolidate  the 
strength,  and  increase  the  resources  of  the  empire  ;  not  merely 
to  contribute  as  they  do,  to  every  defeat  which  the  enemy  meets, 
but  to  render  it  quite  impossible  that  he  should  ever  succeed, 
by  combining  the  entire  nation  in  the  defence  of  their  king  and 
constitution.  Our  first  desire,  and  the  motives  which  govern 
us,  are  to  take  away  from  France  e?en  the  hope  of  success  by 


4O  ^JLiSCT  SPEECHES  OF 

removing  those  excuses  of  distrust,  and  dissension,  and 
in  this  country,  which,  at  present,  are  really  so  many  temptation* 
to  the  enemy  to  invade  us.  We  would  fain  excite  a  NATIONS  k 
tnd  IRISH  PARTY,  capable  of  annihilating  any  foreign  oppressor 
whatsoever,  and  devoted  to  the  amelioration  of  this  our  nativt 
land.  There  is,  indeed,  a  French  party  that  does  exist  in  Irelanr* 
— a  party  most  useful  to  the  views  and  designs  of  France.  It  ij 
the  party  of  the  present  ministry — that  party  which  exerts  its  v^ 
cious  energies  to  divide,  distract,  and  oppress  the  realm — that 
loads  the  nation  with  the  weight  of  ill-judged  taxation,  and  em- 
ploys the  money,  wrung  from  poverty  and  distress,  in  fomenting 
internal  dissensions — in  calumniating  the  Irish  people  to  each 
other — accusing  the  Catholics  of  disloyalty,  because  they  seek  the 
rights  of  the  constitution — charging  the  Protestai/ts  with  bigotry, 
and  yet  encouraging  them  to  become  intolerant.  It  is,  in  fine, 
this  party  which  desolates  the  country,  and  then  talks  to  us  of 
our  growing  prosperity. 

Mr.  O'Connell  then  nroceeded  to  speak  of  Mr  GratUn,  and  peld  him  the  following  warm 
ind  generous  tribute  .- 

He  could  not  sit  down  without  entreating  of  his  learned  friend, 
Mr.  O'Gorman,  to  withdraw  his  opposition  to  the  present  motion. 
Let  not  our  enemies  be  able  to  boast  that  there  was  a  single  dis- 
senting voice  among  the  Catholics,  upon  the  subject  of  Ireland's 
best  and  last  resource,  Henry  G rattan.  Surely  that  learned  gen- 
tleman cannot  be  insensible  to  what  that  illustrious  and  genuine 
patriot  has  done  and  suffered  in  the  cause  of  his  country.  If  ether 
evidence  were  wanting  of  his  love  for  his  devoted  country,  alas, 
poor  Ireland  !  the  active  hatred  of  his  enemies,  which  he  has  so 
long  sustained,  would  alone  demonstrate  it. 

That  greatest  fbe  Ireland  ever  experienced — her  first  and  deep- 
est curse — the  lato  Earl  of  Clare,  honoured  Grattan  with  his 
deadly  hate.  Can  we  forget  it,  how,  under  Lord  Clare's  auspices, 
a  committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  turned  itself,  as  it  were,  into 
a  committee  of  assassination  of  Grattan's  character,  and,  with 
monstrous  effrontery,  gave  to  the  public,  in  their  report,  what 
they  did  not  themselves  believe,  the  assertion  of  a  wretched  in- 
former, charging  him  with  treason. 

They  did  not  themselves  believe  it,  for  if  they  had,  not  onijr 
fheir  du.y,  but  their  strong  and  infuriate  inclination  required  that 
they  should  prosecute  him  eveii  to  death. 

At  that  melancholy  period  (and  may  heaven  avert  from  Ire- 
land the  recurrence  of  such  another)  little  evidence  was  nece$- 


1>ANIKL   O'cONtfELJ-,   rf&Q.,    M.P  41 


8ary,  when  mere  accusation  could  almost  supply  the  place  of 
guilt.  Let  this  instance  of  the  vain  and  impotent  malice  of  the 
enemies  of  Ireland  show  the  extent  of  his  offence  in  serving  his 
country. 

Tli  ere  was  one  other  consideration  which  rendered  it  imperative 
on  the  learned  gentleman  to  abandon  his  opposition.  Let  him 
recollect  that  it  was  Henry  Grattan  "  that  watched  over  the 
cradle  of  Irish  independance,  and  that  he  walked  after  its.  .hearse  !" 
Our  country  is  entranced  in  the  death-sleep  of  the  Union  }  and 
I  pity  that  Irishman  who  does  not  feel  pleasure  in  repeating  with 
me  that  Henry  Grattan  is  alone  worthy  to  "  sound  the  glad 
trumpet  of  her  resurrection  !'* 

Surely  it  will  not  be  said  that  Catholic  ingratitude  diminished 
his  ardours.  He,  Mr.  O'Connell,  felt  that  the  sin  of  ingratitude 
was  heavy  upon  the  Catholics,  while  they  seemed  to  hesitate,  but 
for  a  moment,  on  this  subject,  He  would  not,  therefore,  detain 
the  meeting  from  passing,  what  he  trusted  would  be,  an 
moua  vote, 


UNANIMITY. 

O»  the  9th  of  February  occurred  another  of  the  occasions,  now  fast  multiplying,  to  t«A 
Mr.  O'ConnelTs  abilities  for  leadership,  in  the  important  points  of  conciliating  opposing 
sentiments,  obviating  the  difficulties  suggested  by  the  timid,  the  silly,  or  the  dishonest, 
and  clearing  away  the  obstructions  wantonly  thrown  up  to  wrest  or  divert  the  popular 
movement. 

In  the  current  of  this  debate,  as  In  that  of  the  preceding  debate  of  this  month,  there 
was  strong  evidence  of  a  design,  on  the  part  of  a  few  individuals  in  Dublin,  to  get  into 
their  own  hands  the  exclusive  management  of  Catholic  affairs.  Mr.  O'Conflell,  while  he 
entirely  defeated  this  effort,  and  kept  the  Catholic  Committee  on  its  liberal  and  more 
popular  basis,  yet  so  managed  matters  as  to  have  been  appealed  to  by  one  of  the  chief 
parties  in  the  debate  to  compose  the  differences  that  were  agitating  the  meeting. 

His  speech  for  this  purpose  was  as  follows  ; — 

Mr.  M'Donnell'a  motion  is  for  an  adjournment  for  a  fortnight, 
and  the  proposal  has  been  offered  on  such  reasonable  grounds, 
that  I  give  it  my  most  cordial  support.  Let  it  not  be  supposed 
that  I  am  actuated  by  any  personal  felling,  or  that  I  secretl) 
indulge  a  hope  of  becoming  one  of  the  persons  who  shall  be  en- 
trusted witfi  your  petition.  High  as  I  esteem  the  honour,  I  am 
not  endeavouring,  by  any  means,  direct  or  indirect,  to  obtain  it. 
I  think  not  so  highly  of  myself,  and  I  must  declare  that  it  would 
be  to  me  a  most  pleasing  circumstance  if  there  could  not  te 


42  SELECT   SPEJx;ttJSR   OF 

found  a  more  suitable  individual  than  myself.  I  conjure  my 
countrymen  not  to  suppose  that  I  would  make  the  cause  of  mv 
native  land  subservient  to  any  idle  or  criminal  ambition.  I  re- 
ject, with  scorn,  the  foul  imputation.  I  seek  only  for  unanimity 
among  Catholics,  and  I  leave  to  others  the  glory  of  dividing  the 
body.  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  harshly ;  I  have  often  been  mis- 
taken, but  I  cannot  avoid  saying  that,  unfortunately,  I  have, 
witnessed  in  the  discussion  of  this  day,  more  violence  than  should 
have  entered  into  the  consideration  of  slaves.  I  do  not  suppose 
that  the  gentlemen  act  from  base  or  unworthy  motives ;  but  x 
say  that  error  has  entered  their  hearts,  and  I  lament  its  baneful 
eifects  in  the  division  which  it  must  inevitably  cause  among  the 
Catholic  body.  When  are  our  petty  and  miserable  squabbles  to 
have  an  end?  Are  we  not  allowed  to  go  into  open  air?  But 
must  we  decide  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  with  all  the  evil 
effects  of  division  and  distraction  ;  whereas  by  an  adjournment  of 
a  fortnight,  we  would  become  unanimous.  I  do  not  give  up  my 
opinion  of  the  necessity  of  delegation ;  but  I  would  rather  forego 
the  advantages  resulting  from  delegation,  than  weaken  the  effect 
of  your  petition  by  dividing  the  committee  on  the  question 
The  petition  must  go  before  both  houses  of  parliament,  and  its 
merits  must  be  discussed,  but  I  will  not,  by  pressing  a  division, 
afford  an  argument  to  your  enemies  to  identify  the  sentiments 
of  a  few  men  in  this  committee,  with  the  voice  of  five  millions 
of  persons. 

it  has  been  proved  to  you  this  day,  that  the  sentiments  of 
several  populous  and  respectable  districts  are  indubitably  in  fa- 
vour of  having  their  petition  committed  to  the  care  of  delegates  . 
but  I  will  concede  the  point,  for  I  would  think  myself  criiniir.ii 
if  I  should  divide  the  committee.  My  Lord  Ffrench,  I  entreat 
you  to  consider,  if  it  is  not  an  evil  of  the  utmost  magnitude  to 
divide  us,  as  it  will  show  to  our  enemies,  who  are  secretly-  exult- 
ing at  the  prospect  of  division —  that  we  are  to  the  last  a  divided, 
and,  therefore,  a  contemptible  people — objects  for  the  derision  of 
our  malignant  enemies. 

See  the  predicament  we  are  reduced  to.  We  are  charged  with 
javing  a  faction  amongst  ourselves,  and  we  ask  for  deliberation 
for  a  fortnight,  which  would  render  us  unanimous.  It  has  been 
said  that  I  am  anxious  to  become  one  of  your  delegates ;  I  so- 
lemnly assure  you  that  I  am  not.  Some  of  my  friends  have  often 
expressed  their  wish  that  I  might  become  the  object  of  your 
choice,  but  I  did  say  that  I  could  not  have  that  honour.  So 
impressed  am  I  with  the  necessity  of  being  uu<uumous,  th.it  I 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,    ESQ.,    M.P  43 

promise  the  gentlemen,  if  they  consent  to  adjourn,  that  I  shall, 
at  the  next  meeting,  vote  agaimt  delegation.  (Cries  of  '  hear, 
hear ;'  Mr.  Keogh  seemed  to  desire  that  ne  and  his  friends  con- 
sented.) I  thank  the  gentlem&a  for  his  concession  :  I  hail  it  as 
a  happy  omen ;  it  is  the  voice,  it  is  the  heart,  it  is  the  support  of 
his  venerated  father.  (Hear,  hear,  hear.)  We  now  are  actuated 
by  a  proper  feeling ;  for  it  is  by  perfect  unanimity  alone  that  we 
can  triumph.  You  no  longer  afford  your  enemies  the  malignant 
gratification  of  seeing  dissension  among  you.  It  is  thus  you 
conquer  .tin  bigotry  of  your  opponents;  not  by  "frowning  and 
dignified  silence,"  but  by  heart-felt  unanimity.  (Hear,  hear.)  It 
is  thus  you  put  them  down ;  and  let  us  no  longer  be  a  miserable 
or  divided  people,  but  a  great  and  unanimous  people,  whose  voice 
is  justice,  and  must  be  law.  (Loud  applause.) 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

UPON  the  8th  of  March  the  Catholics  met  in  aggregate  meeting,  at  the  old  Music  Hall  at 
Theatre — still  standing — in  Fishamble-street,  for  the  purpose  of  addressing  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  upon  his  being  called  on  to  assume  the  omce  of  Regent,  in  consequence  of  the 
second  and  final  mental  alienation  of  the  still  reigning  king,  George  III. 

The  occasion  was  only  intended  to  be  made  use  of  for  the  puipose  of  expressing  the 
strong  dissent  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  from  the  attempted  designs  of  the  Perceval  ad- 
ministration to  limit,  most  unconstitutionally,  the  powers  am-  prerogatives  of  the  new 
Regent. 

Mr.  O'Connell  made  two  speeches  on  this  occasion.  The  first  »vas  simply  explanatory 
of  the  objects  of  the  meeting,  and  introductory  of  an  address  drawn  up  in  conformity 
with  those  objects.  Its  adoption  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Sheil,  in  a  speech  of  great  talent, 
and  carried  unanimously ';  as  was  also  a  motion  that  the  address  should  be  presented  to 
bis  royal  highness  by  the  following  noblemen  and  gentlemen  : — Earls  Shrewsbury,  Fin- 
iral,  and  Kenmare  ;  Viscounts  Gormanstown,  Netterville,  and  Southwell ;  Lords  Trimles- 
ton  and  Ff rench ;  Sirs  Thomas  Esmonde,  Edward  Bellew,  Hugh  O'Rielly,  Thomas 
Burko,  and  Francis  Goold,  Barts. ;  Major-General  O'Farrell ;  Colonel  Burke  ;  Messrs.  C 
Bryan,  R.  M'Donnell,  D.  O'Connell,  J.  Keogh,  Owen  O'Connor,  M.  Donnelan,  Edwar«l 
Corbally,  T.  Wynne,  J.  Burke,  Wm.  Coppinger,  Ambrose  J.  Roche,  Edward  Murphy. 
1).  W.  O'Reilly,  George  Browne,  E.  Taaffe,  D.  Caulfleld,  Esqrs. 

The  following  is  the  newspaper  report  of  his  first  speech  :— 

Sir  Edward  Bellew — At  the  suggestion  of  several  members 
of  the  Catholic  committee,  whose  wishes  are  considered  by  me  as 
an  imperative  law,  I  rise  to  address  you  at  this  early  period  of 
the  meeting  on  a  subject  on  which  universal  unanimity  prevails. 
Indeed,  it  were  impossible,  in  Ireland,  to  procure  among  the 
Catholics,  on  the  subject  I  shall  submit  to  you,  a  single  dissen- 
tient voice ;  need  I  say  that  I  allude  to  a  dutiful  and  loyal  ad- 
dress to  his  Royal  Highness  tke  Prince  of  Wales.  I  shall  not 


44 


SELECT   SPEECHES   OF 


consume  the  time  of  this  meeting,  by  entering  into  an  explana 
lion  of  our  motives  for  presenting  the  address ;  and  I  feel  it 
would  be  a  reproach  to  induce  any  argument  to  justify  a  measure 
10  anxiously  wished  for  by  the  Catholics  of  Ireland.  We  owe  it 
fco  his  royal  highness  to  express,  with  heartfelt  gratitude,  our 
unfeigned  thanks  for  the  many  favours  and  benefits  conferred  oa 
us  by  his  revered  father,  to  whom  we  are  perhaps  indebted  for 
the  privilege  of  meeting  here  this  day.  [Here  Mr.  O'Connell  took 
a  summary  view  of  the  political  state  and  incapacities  of  the  Ca- 
tholics at  the  accession  of  his  Majesty  to  the  throne} — when,  he 
gaid,  they  were  excluded  from  every  situation  of  trust,  honour, 
and  emolument :  when  the  then  existing  law  sanctioned  the  breach 
of  every  honourable  principle  ;  when  there  was  hardly  a  grievance 
or  degradation  that  man  could  be  subject  to,  that  the  laws  did 
not  inflict  on  the  Catholics  of  Ireland. 

Thus  stood  the  abominable  code  at  the  period  of  his  Majesty's 
accession,  and  such  hardships  and  slavery  did  it  impose,  that  the 
mind  cannot  contemplate  on  it  without  recoiling  with  horror  and 
disgust.  By  adverting  to  this  period  of  our  history,  he  did  not 
wish  to  excite  religious  distinctions  ;  he  did  not  wish  to  re- 
kindle hatred  and  animosity  among  his  countrymen  :  his  motives 
were  widely  different :  they  were  to  lay  before  the  meeting  the 
obligations  we  owe  to  his  Majesty,  for  the  many  privileges  which 
the  Catholics  at  present  enjoy.  Though  We  continue  a  degraded 
race  in  our  native  land  ;  though  we  still  suffer,  as  we  do,  the  ex- 
clusion from  every  situation  of  honour  and  of  emolument,  yet  to 
the  kind  interposition  of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales 
he  looked  forward  for  the  full  and  speedy  extinction  of  our 
slavery.  The  past  conduct  of  his  royal  highness  assures  us  that 
those  disabilities  which  distinguish  the  Catholic  from  the  Pro- 
testant, can  no  long  continue.  Through  life,  on  every  consti- 
rutional  question,  he  has  given  the  nation  a  convincing  proof  of 
the  liberality  of  his  enligntened  mind.  He  has  selected  the 
friends  and  companions  of  his  private  life  from  among  the  most 
able  statesmen  that  England  ever  produced.  Who  can  forget 
that  Charles  James  Fox  was  the  bosom  friend  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  ?  (Hear,  hear.)  Who  can  forget  that  the  Prince  of  Wales 
expressed  his  anxious  desire  that  the  constitutional  principles  of 
that  immortal  patriot  should  be  impressed  on  the  mind  of  his 
infant  daughter  1  Among  the  confidential  friends  of  the  Prince, 
lot  it  be  remembered  that  the  Hutchinson  family  hold  a  distin- 
guished place.  Ami  here  permit  me  to 'remind  you,  that  if  there 
be  any  class  of  people  that  owe  that  great  and  good  family  a 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,   ESQ.,    M.P.  45 

special  debt,  it  is  the  Catholics  of  Ireland.  He  had  almost 
omitted  to  meution  the  name  of  his  illustrious  countryman,  Mr. 
Sheridan,  who  has  long  participated  in  the  friendship  of  his  royal 
highness ;  but  he  was  ashamed  for  trespassing  so  long  on  an  oc- 
casion like  the  present,  when  he  found  himself  incapable  of  de- 
scribing the  grateful  feelings  of  the  Catholic  people  to  his  royol 
highness,  to  whom  they  were  attached  by  every  principle  of  loy- 
alty and  of  gratitude. 

He  lamented  that  through  the  misguided  folly  of  our  rulers, 
the  country  had  already  suffered  too  much.  It  had  been  involved 
in  deep  calamity  ever  since  the  baneful  measure  of  Union  had 
been  forced  upon  distracted  Ireland.  (Hear,  hear.)  At  that 
calamitous  period  the  argument  made  use  of  by  the  parliament 
of  England,  for  withholding  from  the  Prince  his  undoubted  right, 
was,  that  by  appointing  him  Regent,  they  preferred  him  to  Wil- 
liam Pitt.  The  offence  given  to  the  ministry  of  the  present 
times  seems  to  be,  that  the  people  prefer  his  royal  highness  to 
the  usurper,  Perceval.  It  is  observable  that  the  moment  the 
Regent  was  appointed,  W.  W.  Pole  set  off  for  Ireland,  to  misre- 
present the  Catholics  and  excite  discord.  He  (Mr.  Pole)  seemed 
to  fear  that  in  the  liberal  mind  of  the  Prince  something  would  be 
found  that  would  drive  faction  out  of  its  fastness.  He  took  the 
most  decisive  measure  that  his  little  mind  could  suggest.  Al- 
though a  general  committee  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  had  been 
established  for  almost  eighty  years,  he  had  the  audacity  to  issue 
his  proclamation,  declaring  that  it  was  an  illegal  assembly,  and 
that  the  meeting  was  guilty  of  a  high  misdemeanour.  He  thus 
thought  proper  to  pronounce  sentence  without  going  to  trial ; 
without  the  interposition  of  any  judge.  He  said  he  acted  under 
the  advice  of  a  judge,  who  is  not  a  native  of  this  country,  and 
who  is,  therefore,  ignorant  of  the  Irish  character.  He  admitted 
that  the  judge  was  an  accomplished  gentleman  and  an  able  law- 
yer, but  Irishmen  would  not  submit  to  be  ruled  by  special  plead- 
ings and  English  technicality. 

But  to  return  to  the  subject  of  the  letter.  It  appears  that  it 
was  the  first  act  of  his  royal  highness's  government  in  Ireland, 
It  was  the  ill-advised  measure  of  William  Wellesley  Pole,  the  se« 
rotary  of  all  ages.  We  know  it  could  not  have  emanated  fron. 
his  royal  highness.  As  for  Wellesley  Pole,  he  was  first  secretary 
to  the  king,  then  to  the  usurping  protector,  and  then  to  the 
regent ;  but  his  first  act  was  for  the  purpose  of  putting  up  the 
Orange,  and  dividing  Irishmen ;  but  this  was  not  the  act  of  the 
Prince :  liis  confidential  friends'  conduct,  in  both  houses  of  jar- 


46  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

liament,  is  a  sure  pledge  that  what  appeared  as  the  first  act  of 
his  regency,  was  unknown  to  him.  The  Earl  of  Moira  had  dis- 
avowed the  act,  and  he  was  not  only  a  friend  to  his  country,  but 
he  was  the  friend  of  his  Prince ;  he  could  not  speak  in  terras 
strong  enough  of  the  noble  exertions  of  that  great  man  in  behalf 
of  his  country ;  he  was  the  true  patriot,  not  like  the  men  who 
might  vote  for  the  Catholic  petition.  He  would  disavow  them  as 
they  voted  at  the  side  of  Perceval  against  their  prince— one  mem- 
ber for  the  county  he  belonged  to  had  done  so,  and  he  hoped  yet 
to  meet  him  on  the  hustings,  to  express  the  contempt  he  felt  for 
auch  conduct 

How  different  was  the  conduct  of  the  other  member  of  that 
county ;  he  would  not  mention  him  by  name,  but  his  grateful 
country  felt  his  worth — the  Knight  of  Kerry.  [Mr.  O'Connell 
then  adverted  to  the  address  he  was  about  to  propose]  It  had, 
he  said,  the  concurrence  of  the  existing  committee — it  had  the 
approbation  of  that  venerated  man,  Mr.  John  Keogh — in  short,  it 
had  been  approved  of  by  all  the  friends  to  the  Catholic  cause,  to 
whom  it  had  been  submitted.  Mr.  O'Connell  then  proceeded  to 
read  the  address,  which  was  very  concise,  and  to  the  following 
effect :  "  We  take  leave  to  approach  your  Royal  Highness,  to  ex- 
press our  heartfelt  sorrow  for  the  grievous  malady  with  which 
our  revered  Sovereign  is  afflicted.  We  remember,  with  gratitude, 
the  many  acts  of  favour  and  protection  which  his  Roman  Catho- 
lic subjects  have  received  during  his  reign."  It  then  proceeded 
to  express  their  confidence  in  his  royal  highness,  and  how  provi- 
dential it  was,  that,  at  such  a  crisis,  the  nation  had  such  a  prince 
to  uphold  the  principles  of  the  constitution,  and  to  protect  it  from 
its  foreign  enemies ;  and  it  assures  his  royal  highness  that  every 
hand  and  heart  in  Catholic  Ireland  are  devoted  to  his  support 
It  then  proceeds  Jto  lament  the  hateful  restrictions  with  which  his 
royal  highness  is  encumbered,  and  that  the  Catholics  of  Ireland, 
feeling  the  delicate  situation  in  which  his  royal  highness  wag 
placed,  would  forbear  to  enter  into  a  statement  of  their  situation.; 
and  it  expresses  an  assurance  Jthat  they  know  his  royal  highness 
to  be  their  friend  ;  and  that,  in  a  recent  instance,  they  had  expe- 
rienced the  *«.vour  and  protection  of  his  royal  highness. 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,   ESQ.,   M.P.  47 


THE  DUKE  OF  RICHMOND. 

Mr.  O'Connell's  second  speech  on  this  occasion,  was  to  compose  a  difference  that  h«,d 
•prung  up,  relative  to  an  amendment  condemnatory  of  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  the  Duke  of 
Richmond  This  was  proposed  by  Major  Bryan,  but  opposed  by  many  influential  per- 
sons present,  on  the  ground  chiefly  of  expediency,  though  some  went  so  far  as  to  praise 
the  conduct  of  as  bad  a  viceroy  as  Ireland  had  a  long  time  known.  At  length,  however, 
the  motion  was  carried  in  a  modified  shape,  praying  inquiry  into  what  might  be  the  cir- 
cumstances justificatory  of  a  circular  letter  written  by  Wellesley  Pole,  the  secretary 
wid  that  if  none  such  could  be  found,  that  his  royal  highness  should  dismiss  the  latter, 
and  his  principal,  the  Duke  of  Richmond. 

Sir  Edward  Bellew,  I  decare,  most  unaffectedly,  that  my  feel- 
ings are  much  interested  in  the  fate  of  this  question.  On  the  one 
hand,  if  the  motion  shall  pass,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  some  of  our 
best  friends  may  take  offence  at  it ;  on  the  other,  shall  it  not 
be  acceded  to,  it  may  encourage  a  supposition  that  we  are  pre- 
pared to  submit  to  every  species  of  insult  without  expressing  our 
just  indignation.  A  noble  lord  and  two  other  gentlemen  have 
spoken  against  it,  whose  hostility  to  any  measure,  in  a  Catholic 
meeting,  must  be  considered  as  almost  fatal  to  that  measure ;  but 
in  this  case  it  will  be  forgotten,  at  a  future  day,  what  course  of 
argument  they  pursued,  when  their  opposition  to  the  measure  will 
be  remembered.  No  gentleman  has,  however,  thought  of  praising 
Mr  Pole,  although  some  eulogized  the  lord  lieutenant ;  none  has 
been  so  bold  as  to  attempt  that  which  would  rack  and  exhaust 
invention  to  make  it  palatable.  No,  Sir  ;  it  has  been  found  ne- 
cessary to  squander  the  public  money  in  purchasing  the  labours 
of  hireling  prints,  and  their  depraved  parasites,  to  bestow  diplo- 
matic wisdom  on  Mr.  Pole,  and  military  skill  on  the  redoubtable 
Lord  Wellington. 

What  man  in  this  assembly  shall  be  found  voting  against  any 
censure  of  Catholics  upon  those  men  who  came  here  under  the 
conviction  that  they  thus  stand  pledged  against  your  claims  and 
must  be  prepared  to  concur  in  every  measure  of  a  no-popery  admi- 
nistration ?  Any  men  who  could  accept  offices  under  a  Perceval 
ministry  cannot  be  friendly  to  your  emancipation.  The  Duke  . 
Richmond  came  here  as  a  military  lord  lieutenant,  and  I  suppos< 
Mr  Pole  as  a  military  secretary,  expecting,  in  all  probability,  that 
a  display  of  their  talents  might,  at  some  time,  be  essential,  and 
particularly  amongst  the  Catholics,  as  if  we  could  be  hostile  to  an 
army  composed  entirely  of  such.  The  career  of  his  excellency  s 
life  has  been  a  harmless  one;  he  is  fond  of  amusement  and  the 
convivial  circle ;  but  I  am  not  sure  that  the  qualities  are  such  aa 


48  SELECT   SPEECHES   OT 

the  government  of  Ireland  needs  at  this  moment ;  and  I  defy  his 
panegyrists  to  produce  any  others.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
Orangemen  aro  put  down ;  but  what  proof  have  we  for  it  ?  I  have 
been  informed  that  a  new  Orange  constitution  has  been  framed 
within  the  last  eighteen  months ;  if  this  be  true,  to  what  a  state 
will  not  this  country  be  again  reduced.  Nothing  can  be  more  de- 
plorable than  any  association  which  has  a  tendency  to  divide 
Irishmen.  Yes,  there  is,  to  us,  one  thing  more  deplorable ;  and 
that  is  any  measure  which  may  create  division  amongst  Ca- 
tholics. 

Having  said  so  much  respecting  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  it  is 
but  fair  to  observe,  that  there  is  no  proof  against  him  in  Mr. 
Pole's  letter ;  nothing  can  be  deemed  official  from  him  but  his 
proclamation.  I  do  not  mean  to  dispute  about  words,  but  let 
me  concede  what  is  right,  and  say  that  some  more  evidence  of 
the  duke's  concurrence  with  Mr.  Pole,  is  wanting  to  justify  us 
in  adopting  this  motion.  Is  it  becoming  the  dignity  of  the  Ca- 
tholic body  to  censure  without  examination — to  condemn  with- 
out scrutiny]  Is  it  worth  our  while  to  divide  this  meeting 
abcut  a  cabinet  clerk  ?  It  is  quite  manifest,  that  if  the  honour- 
able mover  presses  his  resolution,  a  division  will  be  the  conse- 
quence. I  think  some  middle  course  may  be  adopted,  which 
may  save  us  the  necessity  of  dividing  the  Catholics.  I  am  sure 
the  gentleman  who  brought  forward  this  motion,  would  not  wish 
to  insult  the  Prince,  or  the  meanest  individual  in  society ;  that 
gentleman  I  am  proud  to  claim  as  my  friend  ;  his  dignified  and 
spirited  conduct,  in  upholding  your  character,  entitles  him,  very 
fully,  to  the  confidence  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland.  Whatever 
decision  this  assembly  may  come  to,  I  shall,  of  course,  assist  to 
the  best  of  my  abilities,  in  furthering  our  common  cause ;  but 
in  the  hearing  of  my  countrymen  I  declare,  that  the  passing  of 
this  resolution  will  provoke  the  enmity  of  a  powerful  party  in 
our  own  body,  with  whom  the  Duke  of  Richmond  is  personally 
acquainted.  The  great  objection  to  this  petition  is,  that  it  de- 
mands what  is  impracticable  ;  you  address  the  Prince  Regent  to 
remove  the  Irish  executive,  and  sure  you  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  it  is  in  his  power  to  do  so.  See  what  comes  of  it — if  you 
igree  to  this  motion,  you  certainly  insult  the  Regent,  because  yon 
isk  him  to  grant  a  favoar  which  it  is  not  in  his  power  to  bestow, 
and  on  his  refusal  you  ay  be  tempted  to  say,  that  he  wnl  «t»t 
do  all  he  can  to  conciliate  Ireland.  I  know  the  artillery  had  been 
prepared  to  intimidate  a  constitutional  and  unresisting  assembly 
of  gentlemen.  I  know  the  military  were  at  new  qmu'Uns  to 


1>ANIEL    O'CONNELL  ,    ESQ.,    M.P.  49 

co-operate  in  the  mighty  plan.  I  know  that  the  city  of  Dublin 
might  be  compared,  on  that  day,  to  a  place  beseiged,  but  all 
these  occurrences  are  not  sufficient  to  justify  a  measure  not  well 
digested,  and  which  will  infallibly  divide  the  Catholics  once- 
more. 

Let  me  suggest,  by  way  of  accommodating  the  difference,  an 
amendment ;  I  am  not  prepared  with  one,  but  the  substance  of 
it  would  be,  to  refer  this  question  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  Ca- 
tholic committee,  for  them  to  consider  the  propriety  of  petition- 
ing parliament  on  the  subject ;  and  if  the  committee  shall  take 
it  up,  and  address  for  the  removal  of  the  lord  lieutenant  and  Mr. 
Pole,  there  is  no  doubt  but  it  will  take  place.  I  would  leave 
the  discussion  of  this  question  altogether  to  the  committee ;  this 
course  of  mine  may  be  not  the  best,  but  it  is  well  meant ;  would 
it  not  be  a  cruelty  to  the  Catholics  to  cause  a  division  amongst 
them  for  the  sake  of  Mr.  Pole  ?  I  may  be  told,  the  gentlemen 
of  the  committee  would  be  against  the  introduction  of  this  ques- 
tion ;  if  so,  let  them  decide  according  to  their  judgment  in  the 
committee,  but  let  us  not  persist  in  this  miserable  practice  of 
counting  noses  at  an  aggregate  meeting.  Gentlemen  may  say 
the  committee  may  be  wrong,  and  an  aggregate  meeting  right, 
and,  therefore,  persevere  in  causing  a  division ;  I  think,  although 
there  may  be  a  majority  for  the  motion,  the  minority  will  be 
triumphant.  We  stand  upon  high  ground  at  present,  let  us  not 
descend  from  it  by  mean  or  vindictive  measures. 

I- shall  not  detain  you  longer,  than  to  entreat  gentlemen  to  con- 
sider the  fatal  consequences  of  dividing  the  Catholics.  By  per- 
severing and  carrying  this  motion,  you  most  certainly  will  insult 
the  Prince,  although  unintentionally.  See  what  a  victory  will 
be  to  your  enemies  to  put  one  Catholic  name  against  another 
when  you  divide.  My  God  !  are  gentlemen  so  wedded  to  their 
own  opinions  as  not  to  yield  a  little  for  the  sake  of  unanimity  ? 
For  my  part  I  am  always  ready  to  concede  any  opinion  or  mea- 
sure of  my  own,  when  a  better  may  be  offered ;  and  I  shall  al- 
ways do  so  when  a  doubt  occurs  to  me  that  my  own  opinion 
nay  be  correct.  I  earnestly  conjure  you  not  to  leave  it  in  the 
power  of  your  calumniators  to  say,  that  you  have  proceeded  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  discretion.  I  will  now  move,  as  an  amend- 
ment to  Major  Bryan's  motion,  that  the  consideration  of  this 
question  be  referred  to  the  members  of  the  general  committee 
at  their  next  meeting. 


50  SELECT  SPEECHES  07 


PETITION  TO  THE  PRINCE  REGENT. 

Ox  the  20th  of  April,  1811,  there  was  another  discussion  in  the  Catholic  Committee,  LorC 
Fingal  in  the  chair,  on  the  instructions  to  be  given  to  the  delegates  who  were  to  go  to 
England  with  the  Catholic  address  and  petition  to  the  Prince  Regent.  Mr.  O'ConneU 
announced  the  impossibility  of  his  forming  one  of  the  number,  owing  to  professional  en- 
gagements ;  and  supported  a  motion  of  Sir  Edward  Bellew  for  disclaiming,  on  the  part 
of  the  Catholic  Committee,  "  any  right  to  control  the  delegates." 

The  base  manner  in  which  the  hopes  of  the  Catholics  were  excited,  and  the  delusive 
nature  of  the  assurances  with  which  they  were  fed,  of  the  good  will  of  the  Prince  Regent 
towards  them,  will  appear  from  a  few  sentences  which  we  will  quote  from  his  speeches 
on  this  occasion. 

He  earnestly  deprecated  all  division  at  a  time  when  the  Ca- 
tholics of  Ireland  were  so  near  emancipation — a  moment  when 
the  accomplishment  of  their  ardent  wishes,  the  fulfilment  of  their 
longing  expectations,  and  the  reward  of  their  unwearied  labours 
were  in  view — when  their  emancipation  was  considered  at  hand 

Let  them  not  fear  that  in  going  forward 

to  present  the  petition  with  the  address  they  would  offend  the 
Prince.  Could  he  suppose  such  an  event ;  'he  (Mr.  O'Connell) 
solemnly  declared,  from  the  feelings  of  genuine  loyalty  in  his 
heart  to  the  Prince,  he  would  give  up  any  question  sooner  than 
incommode  his  royal  highness.  But  it  was  not  the  case.  The 
Prince  has  shown  how  he  regards  the  true  principles  of  the  con- 
stitution   such  a  petition  would  give  satisfaction, 

not  displeasure  to  him,  and  so  he  would  venture  to  prophesy;  tjie 
delegates  would  find  it. 


"WATTY  COX." 

[LIBEL.] 

fur.  bigoted  and  pettifogging  hostility  of  the  ministry  to  the  Catholic  claims  continued 
to  betray  them,  during  the  course  of  this  year,  into  several  of  those  "mistakes"  which, 
in  matters  of  state  policy,  are  held  by  those  who  assume  to  be  authorities  as  to  states- 
manship, to  be  "  worse  than  crimes ;"  both  designations,  however,  apply  to  the  acts  of 
the  English  government  in  1811,  as  unfortunately  for  poor  Ireland,  they  apply  to  the 
acts  of  her  English  governors  throughout  the  weary  period  of  h$r  subjugation. 

Amongst  the  most  ludicrous  of  those  "  mistakes"  was  the  prosecution  for  libel  of  the 
individual  who  is  known  to  fame  in  Ireland,  as  "  Watty  Cox,"  proprietor  of  a  |>eriodical 
of  a  strange  rollicking  character,  which  he  entitled  The  Irish  of  Watty  Cox'x  Magazine. 
One  of  Mr  O'Connell 's  speeches  in  mitigation  of  punishment,  will  give  the  reader  i 

<lea  of  the  man  and  his  publication.     Cox  was  found  guilty  on  two  indictment*, 

•nteuced  to  the  pillory,  and  to  imprisonment. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  51 

My  lords,  I  am  compelled  to  entreat  your  attention  to  a  few 
observations,  by  the  particular  request  of  my  unfortunate  client. 
Had  I  merely  consulted  my  own  feelings  and  judgment,  I  cer- 
tainly should  consider  anything  from  any  man  unnecessary,  after 
what  has  been  so  powerfully  submitted  to  your  minds,  by  the  ta- 
lents of  my  eloquent  and  able  colleague.  I  not  only  consider  it 
unnecessary,  but  justly  apprehend  that  it  may  prove  injurious,  by 
diminishing  the  impressions  which  his  address  must  have  created 
on  this  court. 

My  lords,  attempts  have  been  made  to  blacken  my  client's 
character,  by  describing  him  as  a  systematic  and  common  libel- 
ler; I  trust  that  insinuations  of  this  description  can  have  no 
weight  on  this  court,  or  diminish  the  claim  of  my  client  on  its 
mercy.  If  he  has  been  a  libeller  on  any  other  occasions,  he  is 
liable  to  be  tried  for  such  productions,  and  tc  be  punished  if  con- 
victed. It  is,  in  truth,  a  libel  on  the  law  officers  of  the  crown,  to 
insinuate  that  they  would  suffer  to  escape  from  their  notice  such 
libels  as  could  affect  the  safety  of  the  state ;  it  is,  of  course,  the 
present  duty  of  the  court  to  dismiss  from  theii  minds  every  other 
blameable  publication,  and  confine  their  attention  to  the  publica- 
tion immediately  before  them.  This  publication  is  written  in  a 
manner  which  must  greatly  circumscribe  the  range  of  its  mis- 
chief— absurd  and  unintelligible,  extremely  vulgar,  but  extremely 
obscure — levelled  to  the  language  of  the  common  people  in  its 
expression,  but  entirely  hid  from  their  undestandings  by  its 
incongruity.  Thus  it  is  unintelligible  to  those  on  whom  the  mis- 
chief could  operate ;  and  carries  its  own  antidote  to  those,  who 
have  the  ingenuity  to  extricate  any  meaning  from  the  wretched 
mass  of  absurdity. 

That  the  production  must  be  quite  unintelligible  to  the  com- 
mon people,  clearly  appears  from  this  circumstance : — The  wri- 
ter, when  speaking  of  the  abominable  tyrant  of  France — I  use 
the  words  of  my  client,  in  which,  in  his  affidavit,  he  describes  the 
present  ruler  of  that  country,  I  would  be  understood  as  incapable 
of  applying  such  phrases  myself  to  any  man — the  writer,  I  say, 
in  speaking  of  that  character,  clothes  him  in  trophies,  emblems, 
and  various  adjuncts,  not  only  very  ridiculous  but  inapplica- 
ble, and  in  no  place  suitable  or  characteristic,  quite  unfit  to 
unravel  his  enigma  or  develope  his  allegory,  but  well  adapted  to 
make  it  inexplicable  and  impenetrable.  For  instance,  he  invests 
the  ruler  of  France  with  those  naval  characteristics  only  adapt- 
able to  a  resistless  naval  power  that  rides  on  the  wave  the  lord 
^-  the  ocean ;  howt  when>  where,  did  he  acquire  trophies  and  ixo 


'>'2  SELECT   SPEECHES    OF 

nours  of  that  kind?  Was  it  at  Camperdown,  St.  Vincent's, 
Aboukir,  or  Trafalgar  ?  Few  could  understand  the  character  un- 
der so  awkward,  so  strange  a  description — few  could  know  the 
man,  when  decked  in  attire  so  suitable  to  conceal  or  to  mislead. 

My  lords,  as  to  punishment  by  considerable  fine,  strictly  speak- 
'ing,  punishment  of  any  kind  cannot  affect  him  in  a  pecuniary 
way.  Jlis  poverty  protects  him  in  a  pecuniary  way ;  but  though 
a  considerable  fine  cannot  affect  him  in  a  pecuniary  manner,  it 
may  affect  him  in  a  manner  particularly  severe,  because  it  may, 
indeed,  in  effect  it  must,  amount  to  the  punishment  of  perpetual 
imprisonment.  Perpetual  imprisonment  is  unknown  to  our  law ; 
nay,  it  abhors  imprisonment  that  is  measured  by  years;  and  al- 
though such  punishment  has  been  sanctioned  by  the  judicial  se- 
verities of  modern  times,  it  was  entirely  unknown  to  the  merciful 
wisdom  of  the  law  of  our  fathers — the  common  law  of  the  land. 
The  common  law  abhors  a  lengthened  imprisonment,  that  melan- 
choly, miserable,  emaciating  punishment,  which  shuts  a  man  out 
from  the  fruits  of  industry,  the  comforts  of  society,  the  joys  of  his 
fireside. 

The  common  law  is  slow  in  inflicting  such  a  punishment ;  and 
that  high  crime  of  unjustifiable  homicide — the  highest  of  all 
crimes  not  punished  with  death — the  wantonly  sporting  with 
and  destroying  the  life  of  another,  the  common  law  considers  as 
sufficiently  punished  by  imprisonment  for  a  single  year.  Punish- 
ment by  fine  in  this  case  cannot  operate  against  income,  but  may 
against  industry;  it  cannot  reduce  competence  to  poverty,  but 
may  reduce  poverty  to  want ;  his  family  are  fed  by  his  labour ; 
exclude  him  by  imprisonment  from  the  opportunities  of  labour, 
and  you  will  punish  the  children  for  the  crime  of  their  father, 
and  decree  that  the  innocent  should  suffer  with  the  guilty.  I 
shall  not  resume  the  same  line  of  argument  by  which  my  learned 
colleague  has  established,  that  this  is  the  same  crime  for  which, 
he  has  already  suffered,  and  that  by  punishing  him  in  this  instance 
you  punish  him  twice  for  the  same  offence.  The  two  accusations 
form  one  crime  or  they  do  not ;  if  they  form  one,  he  should  not 
be  punished,  because  he  has  been  punished  already :  if  thoy  form 
two,  the  first  should  not  be  adduced  to  aggravate  the  second, 
because  he  has  already  suffered  for  the  first.  I  shall  not  any 
longer  detain  your  lordships'  attention ;  I  commit  my  client  to 
the  clemency  of  the  court,  in  the  confident  hope  that  you  will 
feel  it  to  be  your  constitutional  duty  not  merely  to  punish  the 
incidental  licentiousness,  but  also  to  preserve  a  free  press :  thajt 
invaluable  blessing  to  which  we  owe  the  righta  we  enjoy — y<m 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,    ESQ.,    M.P.  53 

the  dignified  stations  you  fill ;  and  our  king  the  throne  on  which 
he  is  placed ! 


VOTE  OF  THANKS  TO  EARL  GREY  AND 

LORD  GRENVILLE.          * 

Ox  the  29th  of  February,  in  this  year,  another  aggregate  meeting  of  the  Catholics  took 
place  in  the  same  locality  as  usual,  the  theatre  in  Fishamble-street,  to  "  petition  the 
legislature,  and  to  address  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent." 
The  following  resolution,  amongst  others,  was  passed  at  this  meeting : — 
Proposed  by  Mr.  Burke,  of  Gltnsk,  and  seconded  by  Major  Bryan,  and  resolved  unani- 
mously— "  That  the  General  Committee  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  appointed  by  th» 
aggregate  meeting,  upon  the  ninth  day  of  July  last,  are  entitled  to  our  thanks  ;  and  it  is 
requested  that  they  will  not  meet,  until  the  legality  of  their  doing  so  is  decided.' 

A  resolution,  moved  and  seconded  by  the  same  parties,  expressing  the  thanks  of  the 
meeting  to  "  our  friend*  in  parliament,  Earl  Grey  and  Lord  Grenville,"  was  spoken  to 
by  Mr.  O'Connell. 

Mr.  O'Connell  came  forward  and  said  he  did  not  mean  to  op- 
pose the  motion,  nor  was  it  necessary  to  use  any  argument  in  its 
support.  Since  the  commencement  of  the  British  constitution  to 
the  present  hour,  no  statesmen  had  ever  stood  higher  than  those 
noble  lords  in  public  estimation.  They  had,  with  the  purest 
patriotism,  refused  everything  that  power  could  give ;  they  had 
rejected  all  the  allurements  of  office,  rather  than  sacrifice,  or  even 
postpone  the  assertion  of  principle — a  splendid  instance  of  public 
virtue,  more  brilliant  for  its  rarity  and  for  the  contrast  it  afforded 
to  the  subserviency  of  their  adversaries. 

It  was  unnecessary  to  urge  the  motion.  Every  Irish  heart  beat 
responsive  to  the  liveliest  accents  of  gratitude.  But  he  would 
avail  himself  of  that  opportunity  to  make  some  observations  on 
the  recent  events — on  those  interesting  events  which  had  occured 
since  the  last  meeting  of  the  Catholics.  His  observations  should 
certainly  be  made  with  the  utmost  good  temper,  because,  in  truth, 
there  was  nothing  in  tfiese  occurrences  to  irritate,  or  much  that 
afforded  unmixed  consolation. 

The  first  topic  that  presented  itself  was  the  late  trial  of  Mr. 
Kirwan.  That  trial  had  proved  only  what  was  already  well  known, 
namely,  that  it  was  possible  for  the  Irish  administration,  with  all 
its  resources,  to  find  a  single  jury  to  take  upon  itself  to  swear  that 
pretence  means  purpose .  and  that  the  man  who  was  admitted,  by 
nis  prosecutors  and  judges,  to  be  innocent  in  act  and  intention,  w;ia 
in  law  and  fact,  guilty. 


56  SELECT   SPEECHES   OF 

the  numbers  were  altered  1 — was  it  corruption  1 — was  it  a  mi- 
racle 1 

I  do  still  fondly  nope,  for  the  sake  of  law  and  of  justice — for 
the  sake  of  everything  valuable  to  Irishmen,  that  this  matter  is 
not  at  rest ;  but  that  the  baronet  or  knight,  or  whichever  he  be, 
will  yet  have  this  matter  seriously  and  solemnly  discussed  and 
examined  by  parliament ;  that  the  entire  transaction  shall  yet 
appear  •  and  that  my  lords  the  Justices  of  the  King's  Bench, 
may  possibly,  hereafter,  think  it  their  duty  not  to  suffer  so 
strange  a  fact  to  pass  in  review  before  them,  unexplained  and 
unexplored. 

Allow  me  to  say  one  word  more,  and  I  conclude,  as  to  the  late 
trial  The  prosecutors  insulted  us,  by  excluding  every  Catholic 
from  the  jury  ;  they  injured  us,  too,  by  excluding  every  Presby- 
terian. How  I  thank  them  for  the  compliment  they  paid,  on 
this  second  trial,  to  the  sterling  integrity  of  the  Irish  Presby- 
terians, the  very  best  class  of  men  in  any  community.  To  all 
that  is  generous  and  warm  in  the  Irish  character,  they  add  a  firm- 
ness and  a  discretion,  which  improves  every  manly  virtue.  I  do 
greatly  admire  the  friends  of  religious  and  civil  liberty — the 
Presbyterians  of  Ireland. 

There  is  now  another,  and  a  different  topic,  to  which  I  would 
lead  you  ;  it  relates  to  an  afflicting  circumstance  which  occurred 
since  our  last  meeting.  You  will  recollect  that  I  then  warned 
you  against  the  machinations  of  your  enemies  ;  I  said  that  it  was 
conjectured  that  there  were  schemes  on  foot  to  involve  the  lower 
classes  of  the  people  in  some  idle  dream  of  disaffection  ;  I  cau- 
tioned my  countrymen  against  those  schemes  ;  and  I  added,  "  that 
any  person  who  suffered  himself  to  be  imph'cated  in  them,  must 
be  either  a  miserable  dupe,  or  the  hired  spy  of  the  Castle." 

Little  did  I  then  imagine,  that  my  prophetic  fears  would  be  so 
soon  realised ;  little  did  I  then  imagine,  that  I  should  be  so  soon 
placed  in  that  most  distressing  situation  in  which  I  have  since 
stood  ;  that  I  should  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  feeling  the 
abject  humiliation  of  disclosing  facts  which  might  be  fatal  to  some 
of  my  deluded  countrymen,  or  be  obliged  to  expose  them  all  to 
the  danger  of  becoming  the  victims  of  secret  conspiracy,  and  to 
do  what  you  all  know  to  be  impossible — to  violate  the  solemn 
oath  of  allegiance,  which  I  have  repeatedly  taken. 

Let  any  man  of  feeling  judge  of  my  situation.  I  did  feel  as  if 
I  were  degraded  ;  but  I  felt  that  I  could  not  be  untrue  to  honour, 
when  I  was  in  the  company  of  your  lordship,  and  my  most  esti- 
mable fr*nd,  Captain  Bryan. 


DANIEL  O'CON.YELL,  ESQ.,  M.i».  Sf 

The  affair  was  fortunately  passed  over ;  those  who  were  ar- 
rusted  have  been  discharged  : 

*'  My  bosom's  lord  .itts  lightly  on  its  throne," 

when  I  recollect  that  those  men  have  been  restored  to  their  fami- 
lies ;  but  I  must  again  indulge  in  anticipating  hope — I  must 
•till  hope  to  see,  in  this  country,  an  administration  that  will  offer 
pardon  and  reward  to  the  proclaimed  conspirator,  Fisher,  for  tl.« 
disclosures  of  who  were  his  instigators,  and  with,  or  under  whom 
he  acted.  . 

I  may  be  much  mistaken ;  but  I  do  expect,  then,  to  find  some 
vile  and  abominable  scheme  disclosed ;  a  scheme  to  dupe  the 
\>oor,  in  onler  to  continue  the  vassalage  of  the  rich.  Let  me 
not  be  misunderstood,  t  do  not  mean  to  accuse  the  adminis- 
tration at  the  Castle  with  any  such  scheme  ;  it  is  of  a  nature 
too  revolting  to  humanity  to  allow  me  to  attribute  it  to  civilised 
beings.  The  secretary  may,  indeed,  indulge  his  taste  in  jurioe, 
but  he  would  scorn  to  deal  in  blood  ;  the  scheme  is  confined,  if 
it  exists  at  all,  to  some  of  the  inferior  agents — to  some  expectant 
place-hunter,  or.  rather  perhaps,  to  seme  spy  by  profession,  who, 
in  the  vacation  between  the  terms,  happens  to  be  devoid  of  other 
occupation.  (Applause.) 

I  ought  not,  my  lord,  to  detain  you  longer ;  but  I  am  induced 
to  request  the  attention  of  the  meeting  to  a  publication  of  a  very 
htnmge  nature  :  it  imports  to  be  a  report  of  a  speech  in  parlia- 
ment, and  it  bears  the  name  of  Mr.  Wellesley  Pole 

I  (Here  Mr.  O'Connell  was  interrupted  by  Mr.  Francis  Hudrtlfston— by  that  Francis  Hud 
dleston  who  prosecuted  the  Catholic  delegates — who  wanted  to  address  the  clminnar 
Mr.  liarnewall.  Major  Bryan.  Counsellors  Hussey  and  Finn  protested  against  jUis  attempt 
with  grout  indignation,  and  -A  ere  strongly  supported  by  the  entire  meeting.] 

Mr.  O'Conneil  continued  his  address : — What  that  gentleman 
might  have  said  in  parliament,  1  am  quite  ignorant  of,  nor  do  I 
inquire  ;  I  have  at  present  no  right  to  reply  to  him  here  ;  un<i 
\  entertain  little  doubt  but  that  anything  to  our  prejudice,  or  in 
lis  own  praise — bin  favourite  subjects,  which  he  might  have 
brought  forward — was  sufficiently  replied  to  and  exposed  ;  my 
business  is  merely  with  a  newspaper  publication — a  publication 
contained  in  a  paper  bearing,  with  a  constant  contempt  for  truth 
as  k.s  title,  the  sacred  name  of  "Patriot" 

This  publication  is  entitled  "the  speech  of  the  Right  Honour- 
able W.  W.  Pole."  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  believe  that  any 
man  could  pronounce  such  a  discourse :  the  style  is  of  the  poorest 
u'der  ;  it  talks  of  the  magistrates  having  a  row  with  the  com- 
laittee ;  and  there  are  a  thousand  other  phrases  hi  it  which  da- 
ft 


SELECT  BnreuilKR  O* 

that  no  man  of  common  education  could  have  com 
posed  it.     But  it  would  be  absurd  to  waste  time  in  censuring 
more  of  this  composition  :  it  is  the  absence  of  truth  and  decent- v 
which  distinguishes  it,  and  entitles  it  to  some  notice  amongst 
our  calumnies. 

Let  me  be  pardoned  whilst  I  delay  you  to  expose  its  want  of 
veracity.  It  is  by  calumny  alone  that  our  degradation  is  con- 
tinued ;  if  nothing  were  told  of  us  falsely,  if"  nought  was  set  down 
against  us  in  malice,"  we  should  long  since  have  been  emanci- 
pated. My  lord,  I  beg  leave  to  confute  these  calumnies,  not  be- 
cause they  are  talented  or  skilful,  but  simply  to  oppose  the  sys- 
Vem  of  detraction. 

I  have  selected  six  different  assertions,  which  are  either  but 
partially  true,  or  destitute  of  any  the  slighter  foundation  of  fact. 

The  first  I  shall  mention  is  one,  perhaps,  in  itself,  of  little 
moment ;  but  it  will  serve  to  show  how  incautious  "  this  speech*1 
is  in  its  assertions.  It  does,  m  v  lord,  assert,  in  speaking  of  the 
addition  to  our  former  Committee,  in  the  beginning  of  1811— 

1st — "  That  the  government  intended  to  stop  the  elections,  and 
did  stop  them.  The  ten  persons  which  (I  preserve  (he  beauty 
of  the  original)  were  ordered  to  be  returned  from  each  county,  in 
point  of  fact,  never  did  assemble." 

In  point  of  fact,  my  lord,  we  all  know  that  the  government 
never  stopped  any  such  election  ;  that  it  never  did  interfere, 
save  by  sending  forth  the  slovenly  and  ludicrous  circular  ;  and 
that  in  point  of  fact,  the  appointment  did  take  place  in  most  of 
the  counties-r-every  county  that  pleased — and  the  assembling  of 
those  persons  was  a  matter  as  public,  and  as  well  known  to  the 
government,  as  any  other  fact  which  was  entrusted  to  the  daily 
newspapers;  but  there  is  certainly  this  happy  colour  for  the  as- 
sertion of  the  speech — that  all  the  counties  in  Ireland  did  not 
appoint  t<»  the  last  Committee. 
It  is  also  asserted — 

2nd — "  Th  t  Lord  Ffrenoh,  in  consequence  of  th  3  violence  oJ 
the  members  of  the  Committee,  selected  from  them." 

When  shall  I  tiiid  time  to  express  my  astonishment  at  thit 
.'Wwrtion — an  assertion  directly,  pointedly,  and  positively  the 
contrary  of  the  fact.  Mr.  W.  W.  Pole  could  never  have  said  any 
such  thing.  Why,  Lord  Ffreuch  was  in  the  '•^air,  when  Mr 
Pole  sent  his  police-justice  to  disperse  that  Committee.  Lord 
Flrench  entered  into  a  correspondence  with  Mr.  Pole  to  maintain 
th-u  Committee.  He  lent  his  character,  his  rank,  and  his  talent* 
fc>  support  that  Committee  ;  and,  in  perfect  defiance  of  Mr.  W 


W.  Pole,  he  did  suppoil  it.     What  becomes  of  the 
luvj^rtion  of  his  secession  ? 

I  wish  my  noble  friend,  for  so  I  am  proud  to  call  him,  were 
allowed  by  his  health  to  be  here  this  day :  how  he  would  rt.-tute 
this  calumny.  HP  never  seceded  or  deserted  the  Catholic  cause  ; 
and  I  can  assure  Mr.  W.  W.  Pole,  that  there  breathes  not  the 
man  who  would  presume  to  tell  his  lordship  that  he  seceded 
from  the  Catholic  Committee  or  the  Catholic  rights.  I  knor 
the  reply  which  such  presumption  would  meet  and  merit. 

The  next  assertion  which  1  shall  notice  is — 

3rd — "That  many  of  the  counties  in  Ireland  could  not  pro- 
duce ten  respectable  persons  of  the  Catholic  religion,  above  the 
rank  of  farmers." 

Where  was  the  creature  found  who  wrote  this  speech  ?  Is  this 
ignorance  only,  or  is  it  unblushing  effrontery  ?  I  shall  not  stoop 
to  refute  this  foolish  untruth  ;  it  may  serve  a  purpose  in  Eng- 
land ;  in  this  country  it  is  almost  beneath  ridicule. 

We  soon  after  find  it  gravely  stated — 

4th — "  The  meetings  to  appoint  the  present  Committee  were 
held  for  the  most  part  during  the  assizes  ;  but  they  were  con- 
ducted in  such  a  manner,  that  it  Mas  almost  impossible  to  find 
out  what  passed  at  the  time.*1 

Shame,  shame  upon  this  profligate  speech-writer  !  Why,  all 
Ireland  knows  that  these  meetings  were  held  with  even  osten- 
tatious publicity  ;  that  they  were  crowded  by  Protestants  ;  and 
that  he  who  could  moke  the  assertion  that  I  have  just  quoted, 
deserves  not  the  trouble  of  contradiction.  It  may  be  supposed 
that  it  was  impossible  to  exceed  the  absurdity  of  the  last  mis- 
statement  ;  but,  my  lord,  it  has  been  exceeded,  for  I  find  in  thr* 
speech  these  words — 

5th — "  The  Earl  of  Fingal  had  also  seceded  from  the  Com- 
mittee." 

No,  my  lord,  calumny  more  absurd  was  never  invented  ;  a»- 
Bertion  more  destitute  of  fact  was  never  written.  [Lord  Fiugal 
declared  his  assent.]  Yes,  my  lord,  you  are  thus  calumniated  ; 
and  the  purpose  of  publishing  these  untruths  only  aggravates  the 
guilt  of  him,  whoever  he  be,  that  invented  them. 

There  remains  yet  one  calumny.  I  do  not  entreat  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee,  so  many  of  them  I  see  about  me,  t<> 
restrain  their  indignation  whilst  I  read  it.  It  is  this  : — 

6th — "  Mr.  Pole  said,  that  if  gentlemen  would  read  the  debates 
of  this  Committee,  they  would  find  separation  was  openly  and 
distinctly  recommended." 


KKLECT  SPEECHES  OK 


Mr.  Pole  said  no  such  thing  :  the  man  does  not  live,  suffi- 
ciently audacious  to  say  any  such  thing.  Why,  my  lord,  this  in 
a  direct  accusation  of  high  treason  ;  and  he  who  would  assert  it 
pf  me,  I  would  brand  with  the  foulest  epithets.  No  ;  a  writer 
in  a  newspaper  may  be  found  to  compose  such  a  paragraph,  but 
no  man  in  his  senses  in  the  world  dare  to  utter  it  aloud.  Bwt 
if  it  were  said,  I  care  not,  while  I  proclaim  it  to  the  world  to  be 
unfounded  as  it  is  injurious  —  aa  false  as  it  is  foul  ;  and  1  defy 
the  slightest  proof  to  be  given  of  its  veracity. 

I  have  trespassed  upon  yon  too  long,  with  this  miserable  pub- 
Jcation  ;  it  deserves  notice  only,  because  having  circulated 
among  the  English,  who  know  us  not,  it  may,  remaining  uncon- 
tradicted,  be  believed.  In  the  six  assertions  which  I  have  noticed, 
ahere  is  but  one  that  has  the  slightest  pretensions  to  any  colour 
of  being  otherwise  than  being  directly  and  palpably  the  exact 
reverse  of  the  fact. 

I  am  tempted  to  give  you  another  instance  of  the  stuff  this 
speech  is  made  of.  It  treats  of  the  book  called  "  The  Statement 
uf  the  Penal  Law,"  and,  as  usual,  it  flagrantly  misrepresents  or 
absurdly  replies.  I  have  been  done  the  great  honour,  by  some 
persons,  of  havng  that  book  attributed  to  me.  I  should  be 
proud  to  own  it  if  I  could,  but  I  am  incapable  of  writing  st 
excellent  a  composition,  or  of  sharing  the  honour  with  a  gentle- 
man to  whose  pen  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  are  deeply  indebted, 
for  everything  admirable  that  has  emanated  from  him  ;  and  never 
were  they  more  obliged  than  by  the  address  and  petition  which 
you  have  adopted  this  day. 

I  do  not  choose  to  dilate  on  the  resplendent  talents  of  my 
respected  friend  ;  but  in  him  Ireland  possesses  a  model  of  clas- 
sical taste  and  refined  judirment,  devoted  exclusively  to  patriotic 
purposes.  His  book  has  been  criticised  in  this  speech  ;  and  the 
kw,  which  is  the  intervention  of  the  commissioners  of  charitable 
donations,  precludes  the  possibility  of  establishing  a  Catholic 
charity,  with  peiinaneut  funds,  is  palliated  by  endeavouring  to 
•how,  that  the  rigour  of  the  statute  is  softened  by  the  mildness 
t>f  the  commissioners.  It  is  alleged  that  they  humanely  spare 


many  a  popish  charity,  and  allow  the  pious  sin  to  be  perpetrated 
in  quiet.  Instances  of  their  forbearance  are  given  ;  and  amongst 
fchem  we  find  the  following,  under  date,  1810  :—  "  James  Baldwin, 
*f  Macroom,  coiiar^  (\>rk,  left  all»his  lands,  in  reversion,  to 
Doctors  Segrave  auu  Moylan.  in  trust,  to  raise  £400  per  annum, 
for  ever,  to  establish  a  school  to  instruct,  poor  children  in  tht 

" 


of  the  Church  ->f 


DANIXL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  %\ 

This  is  one  of  the  instances  of  the  lenity  of  the  commissioner* 
of  charitable  donations.  Now,  let  me  tell  you  what  the  value  of 
their  kindness  is — Mr.  Baldwin  was  married  to  a  near  relation 
of  mine.  I  ara  his  executor.  It  was  i  proved  the  will,  RO  that 
I  am  authority  upon  this  point.  The  fact  is,  that  he  had  e\*ht 
children,  five  of  whom  are  married,  and  have,  most  of  them,  large 
and  increasing  families.  He  first  devised  his  estates  to  his  chil- 
dren, successively,  and  their  issue,  male  and  female  ;  then  to  two 
other  individuals  of  his  own  name,  having  families,  and  their 
issue,  male  and  female  ;  and  after  the  decease  of  all  those  per- 
sons, between  seventy  and  eighty  in  being,  and  all  their  issue. 
this  £400  per  annum,  is  bequeathed  to  endow  a  Catholic  school, 
so  that  the  vesting  of  this  bequeath  depends  on  the  contingency 
of  about  eighty  persons  dying  without  issue,  an  event  very  little 
likely  to  take  place  in  this  country. 

.  Such  is  the  wonderful  forbearance  of  those  commissioners — 
such  is  the  happy  art  attributed  to  Mr.  VV.  W.  Pole,  of  furnishing 
proofs  and  illustrations.  Yes,  this  article  illustrates  the  active 
genius  of  the  speech.  Unfounded  assertion,  ridiculous  argument, 
paltry  self-sufficiency,  and  ludicrous  quotation,  distinguished 
the  narrative  of  the  parish  clerk,  whose  situation,  exposing  him 
to  public  view,  he  has  mistaken  for  elevation.  I  have  to  apolo- 
gise for  attaching  so  much  importance  to  matters  so  insignificint. 
I  hasten  to  conclude  by  expressing  my  conviction  that  tlu- 
Emancipation  is  certain,  and  will  be  immediate.  The  generous, 
the  cordial  support  of  our  Protestant  brethren,  in  Ireland,  assures 
UK  of  it.  The  petition — which  is  exclusively  their  measure,  and 
with  respect  to  which,  every  Catholic  has  scrupulously  avoided 
the  least  interference — the  Protestant  petition  has,  at  this- 
moment,  more  signatures  to  it  than  were  affixed  to  any  petition 
of  our  own.  It  has  been  supported  in  every  count v  by  th»» 
wealth,  talent,  and  rank  of  our  affjctionate  countrymen,  and  I 
rm  proud  to  see  amongst  us  this  day,  at  the  head  of  so  many  or 
our  Protestant  friends,  a  noble  Lord  (Glent worth)  whose  ardenr, 
patriotism  entitled  him  to  the  gratitude  of  every  class  of  his 
fellow  subjects ;  and  whom  we  shall  see  met  by  corresponding 
patriotic  exertions,  and  proudly  placed  in  the  first  rank  of  the 
representatives  of  his  native  country.  The  voters  of  Limerick 
will  not  be  blind  to  the  insults  they  have  received  from  other 
quarters,  nor  to  their  own  interests  and  dignity,  noi  to  the  worth 
of  the  noble  lord. 

We  have  the  Protestants  of  Ireland  in  our  favour — the  IV>- 
tcstauta  of  England,  at  least  the  rational  part  of  them,  arc  not 


60  RKLECT  SPEECHES  Or 

Mr.  Pole  said  no  such  thing :  the  man  does  not  live,  suffi- 
ciently audacious  to  say  any  such  thing.  Why,  my  lord,  this  in 
a  direct  accusation  of  high  treason  ;  and  he  who  would  assert  it 
9f  me,  I  would  brand  with  the  foulest  epithets.  No  ;  a  writer 
in  a  newspaper  may  be  found  to  compose  such  a  paragraph,  but 
no  man  in  his  senses  in  the  world  dare  to  utter  it  aloud.  But 
if  it  were  said,  I  care  not,  while  I  proclaim  it  to  the  world  to  be 
unfounded  as  it  is  injurious — as  false  as  it  is  foul ;  and  1  defy 
the  slightest  proof  to  be  given  of  its  veracity. 

I  have  trespassed  upon  yon  too  long,  with  this  miserable  pub- 
.ication  ;  it  deserves  notice  only,  because  having  circulated 
among  the  English,  who  know  us  not,  it  may,  remaining  uncou- 
tradicted,  be  believed.  In  the  six  assertions  which  I  have  noticed, 
there  is  but  one  that  has  the  slightest  pretensions  to  any  colour 
of  being  otherwise  than  being  directly  and  palpably  the  exact 
reverse  of  the  fact. 

I  am  tempted  to  give  you  another  instance  of  the  stuff  this 
speech  is  made  of.  It  treats  of  the  book  called  "  The  Statement 
uf  the  Penal  Law,"  and,  as  usual,  it  flagrantly  misrepresents  or 
absurdly  replies.  I  have  been  done  the  great  honour,  by  some 
persons,  of  hav'ng  that  book  attributed  to  me.  I  should  be 
proud  to  own  it  if  I  could,  but  I  am  incapable  of  writing  st 
excellent  a  composition,  or  of  sharing  the  honour  with  a  gentle- 
man to  whose  pen  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  are  deeply  indebted, 
for  everything  admirable  that  has  emanated  from  him  ;  and  never 
were  they  more  obliged  than  by  the  address  and  petition  which 
you  have  adopted  this  day. 

I  do  not  choose  to  dilate  on  the  resplendent  talents  of  my 
respected  friend  ;  but  in  him  Ireland  possesses  a  model  of  clas- 
sical taste  and  refined  judirment,  devoted  exclusively  to  patriotic 
purposes.  His  book  has  been  criticised  in  this  speech  ;  and  the 
law,  which  is  the  intervention  of  the  commissioners  of  charitable 
donations,  precludes  the  possibility  of  establishing  a  Catholic 
charity,  with  peirnaiieut  funds,  is  palliated  by  endeavouring  to 
•how,  that  the  rigour  of  the  statute  is  softened  by  the  mildness 
«>f  the  commissioners.  It  is  alleged  that  they  humanely  spare 
many  a  popish  charity,  and  allow  the  pious  sin  to  be  perpetrated 
in  quiet.  Instances  of  their  forbearance  are  given  ;  and  amongst 
them  we  find  the  following,  under  date,  1810 : — "James  Baldwin, 
*f  Macroom,  count-*  Cork,  left.  all»his  lands,  in  reversion,  t« 
Doctors  Segrave  auu  Moylan.  in  trust,  to  raise  £400  per  annum, 
for  ever,  to  establish  a  school  to  instruct,  poor  children  iu  tht 
te'H'ts  of  the  Church  ->f 


DAFIXL  O'OONNELL,  EBQ.,  M.T.  9\ 

This  is  one  of  the  instances  of  the  lenity  of  the  commission  or* 
of  charitable  donations.  Now,  let  me  tell  you  what  the  value  of 
their  kindness  is — Mr.  Baldwin  was  marrio'l  to  a  near  relation 
of  mine.  I  ara  his  executor.  It  was  i  proved  the  will,  so  that 
I  am  authority  upon  this  point.  The  fact  is,  that  he  had  eiirht 
children,  five  of  whom  are  married,  and  have,  most  of  them,  large 
and  increasing  families.  He  first  devised  his  estates  to  his  chil- 
dren, successively,  and  their  issue,  male  and  female  ;  then  to  two 
other  individuals  of  his  own  name,  having  families,  and  their 
issue,  male  and  female  ;  and  after  the  decease  of  all  those  per- 
sons, between  seventy  and  eighty  in  being,  and  all  their  issue, 
this  £400  per  annum,  is  bequeathed  to  endow  a  Catholic  school, 
so  that  the  vesting  of  this  bequeath  depends  on  the  contingency 
of  about  eighty  persons  dying  without  issue,  an  event  very  little 
likely  to  take  place  in  this  country. 

,  Such  is  the  wonderful  forbearance  of  those  commissioners — 
such  is  the  happy  art  attributed  to  Mr.  W.  W.  Pole,  of  furnishing 
proofs  and  illustrations.  Yes,  this  article  illustrates  the  active 
genius  of  the  speech.  Unfounded  assertion,  ridiculous  argument, 
paltry  self-sufficiency,  and  ludicrous  quotation,  distinguished 
the  narrative  of  the  parish  clerk,  whose  situation,  exposing  him 
to  public  view,  he  has  mistaken  for  elevation.  I  have  to  apolo- 
gise for  attaching  so  much  importance  to  matters  so  insignificiut. 

1  hasten  to  conclude  by  expressing  my  conviction  that  ttv.' 
Emancipation  is  certain,  and  will  be  immediate.  The  generous, 
the  cordial  support  of  our  Protestant  brethren,  in  Ireland,  assures 
u«  of  it.  The  petition — which  is  exclusively  their  measure,  and 
with  respect  to  which,  every  Catholic  has  scrupulously  avoided 
the  least  interference — the  Protestant  petition  has,  at  this- 
moment,  more  signatures  to  it  than  were  affixed  to  any  petition 
of  our  own.  It  has  been  supported  in  every  county  by  tin* 
wealth,  talent,  and  rank  of  our  affectionate  countrymen,  and  I 
PTP  proud  to  see  amongst  us  this  day,  at  the  head  of  so  many  of 
our  Protestant  friends,  a  noble  Lord  (Glent worth)  whose  ardenr, 
patriotism  entitled  him  to  the  gratitude  of  every  class  of  his 
fellow  subjects ;  and  whom  we  shall  see  met  by  corresponding 
patriotic  exertions,  and  proudly  placed  in  the  first  rank  of  the 
representatives  of  his  native  country.  The  voters  of  Limerick 
will  not  be  blind  to  the  insults  they  have  received  from  other 
quarters,  nor  to  thfeir  own  interests  and  dignity,  noi  to  the  worth 
of  the  noble  lord. 

We  have  the  Protestants  of  Ireland  in  our  favour — the  Pr>- 
tcstauta  of  England,  at  least  the  rational  part  of  thorn,  arc  not 


52  SELECT  SPEKCHRK  Of 

opposed  to  us.  No,  in  the  two  last  discussions  in  parliament,, 
the  right  and  justice  of  our  claims  were  conceded,  even  by  those- 
who  opposed  on  the  ground  of  the  time ;  there  was  but  one  soli- 
tary exception — a  single  individual.  Sir  John  Nichol,  who  wat 
sent  forward  as  the  scape-goat  of  English  bigotry,  to  revive 
•Ancient  calumny,  and  to  add  some  fresh  ones  ;  he  was  installed 
in  the  enviable  office  of  successor  to  Dr.  Duignan ;  but,  good 
Lord  !  he  is  quite  unfit  for  the  employment.  There  was  about 
Duignan,  a  sturdy,  robust,  unblushing  effrontery,  that  enabled 
i>im  to  assert  anything,  and  prevented  the  possibility  of  hi* 
retreating.  This  poor  Nichol,  however,  was  no  sooner  attacked 
nnd  ridiculed,  at  every  tide,  than  he  explained  one  passage, 
softened  down  another,  and  gave  up  a  third,  until  he  himself 
abandoned,  piecemeal,  the  web  of  intolerance,  so  that  it  realljr 
appears,  that  even  the  futile  resource  of  bigoted  calumny  is  at 
length  exhausted. 

Of  the  Prince  I  shall  say  nothing — uncertainty  as  to  present 
circumstances — reliance  on  the  past,  and  the  lingering  and  dutiful 
affection  in  a  heart  devoted  to  the  friend  of  Ireland,  restrain  me. 
To  canvass  the  subject  would  appear  to  be  the  entertaining  of  a 
doubt. 

Oh  !  but  there  is  one  objection  still  remains  to  our  emancipa- 
tion ;  it  is  quite  novel  and  most  important.  Our  enemies  object 
to  the  tone  which  the  Catholics  use.  This  notable  objection  was 
struck  out  by  the  Earl  of  llosse.  He  disliked  our  tone — he 
might  as  well  have  quarrelled  with  our  accent — but  that  would 
rather  be  a  strong  measure  in  Lord  Rosse  (laughter).  Seriously, 
however,  the  descendant  of  Sir  William  Parsons  has  an  here- 
ditary right  t6  be  the  enemy  of  the  Catholics  upon  any  pretext, 
or  even  without  one.  I  do  not  believe  this  lord  has  fallen  intc 
inconsistency.  I  have  some  faint  recollection  that,  under  tha 
uame  of  Sir  Lawrence  Parsons,  he  once  enacted  patriotism  in 
Ireland — I  may  be  mistaken,  but  I  do  not  think  he  ever  sup- 
ported our  claims  ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  I  wish  he  never  may. 

But  our  tone  is  disliked — yes,  my  lord,  they  dislike  the  tone 
which  men  should  use  who  are  deeply  anxious  for  the  good  of 
their  country,  and  who  have  no  other  object.  We  are  impressed 
with  the  sense  of  the  perils  that  surround  us,  and  of  all  the 
calamities  impending  on  a  divided  and  distracted  people.  \\  e 
see  our  own  resources  lavishly  squandered  upon  absurd  projects, 
whilst  our  tottering  paper  currency  is  verging  fast  to  bank- 
-uptcy — the  fate  of  every  other  paper  currency  that  has  aa  yet 
•justed.  We  see  the  private  ruin  that  must  eusue,  the  deatruo- 


DAFIEL  O'CONNBLL,  F8Q.,  M.P.  $3 

tion,  so  prodigally  hastened,  of  the  funded  system.  We  see  the 
most  formidable  militaiy  force  arrayed  on  the  Continent.  The 
Emperor  of  the  European  world  is  now  busied  with  *ome  quarrel 
on  the  Northern  Frontier,  which  now  extends  to  the  suburbs  of 
St.  Petersburgh  ;  his  fleet  augments  by  the  month  ;  who  shall 
dare  to  say  tl>;it  we  shall  not  have  to  fight,  on  our  own  shores, 
for  the  last  refuse  of  civil  liberty,  in  this  eastern  world.  What 
blindness,  what  infatuation,  not  to  prepare  for  that  event ! 

We,  iny  lord,  assume  the  tone  which  may  terrify  the  invader  ; 
we  use  the  tone  of  men  who  appreciate  the  value  of  civil  liberty, 
and  who  would  die  sooner  than  exchange  it  for  the  iron  sway  of 
military  rule.  We  talk  as  men  should,  who  dread  slavery  and 
disgrace,  but  laugh  to  scorn  tho  idea  of  danger.  Shall  it  be 
asked,  if  the  invader  arrived — 

"  And  wa«  there  none — no  Irish  arm, 
In  whose  veins  the  native  blood  runs  warm  ? 
And  was  there  no  heart  in  the  trampled  land. 
That  spum'd  the  oppressor's  proud  command? 
Could  the  wronged  realm  no  arm  supply, 
But  the  abj«ct  tear  and  the  slavish  sigh  '*' 

Why,  yes,  my  lord,  we  are  told  if  we  had  been  servile  ana 
base  in  our  language,  and  dastardly  in  our  conduct,  we  should 
be  nearer  success;  that  the  " slavish  tear,"  the  "abject  sigh." 
would  have  suited  our  dignity ;  that  had  we  shown  ourselves 
prone  to  servility  and  submission,  and  silent  in  oppression,  wo 
should  advance  our  emancipation  ;  and  that  by  proving,  by  our 
words  and  actions,  that  we  deserve  to  be  slaves — we  should 
nnsure  lihertv. 


MR.   VERNER  MOORE. 

AT  *  meeting  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar,  held  on  Saturday,  May  30, 1812,  Mr.  O'ConneB 
delivered  the  following  speech,  as  reported  hi  the  Dublin  Evening  Pott  of  Thursday,  Jun« 
4.  1812:— 

He  sard  that  having  had  the  honour  of  being  called  to  the 
chair  at  the  small  meeting  of  the  bar  which  had  occurred  in  the 
vacation,  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  state  the  object  of  those 
who  called  that  meeting,  and  had  adjourned  to  the  present  day 
for  the  convenience  of  the  bar  at  large.  The  facts  were,  simply 
and  without  comment,  these: — Shortly  after  the  last  circuit,  Mr. 
Verner  Moore  had  published,  in  the  newspapers,  a  statement 


154  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

purportin"  to  detail  a  transaction  which  he  asserted  to  liavn  oc- 
curred at  the  last  assizes  of  Omngh.     It  purported,  as  far  as  it 
went  to  be  the  report  of  a  trial  that  had  taken  place  in  the  pub- 
lic court-house,  as  personally  interested  Mr.  Moore  ;  it  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Irish  bar,  and  for  the  truth  of  the  statement,  Mr. 
Moore  solemnly  pledged  himself.     It  appears  that,  shortly  alter, 
the  benchers,  as  they  are  called,  of  the  King's  Inns,  had  a  meet- 
ing •  they  summoned  Mr.  Moore  before  them;  they  required  to 
know  if  he  were  the  author  of  the  publication  in  question  ;  he 
admitted  the  fact— he  went  further— he  admitted  that  the  mode 
of  publication  of  his  complaint,  in  a  newspaper,  was  an  improper 
one  :  but  he  again  repeated  his  solemn  assertion  of  the  truth  of 
what  he  had  published,  and  offered  to  prove,  beyond  any  doubt, 
its  perfect  accuracy.     He  was  then  dismissed ;  and  the  benchera 
who  had  before  his  personal  examination,  deliberated  in  private, 
resumed  their  private  sittings,  and  the  result  was,  a  vote  01  the 
severest  censure  on  Mr.  Moore;  and  another  vote,  that  the  cen- 
Bure  should  be  read  publicly  in  all  the  courts,  on  the  first  da> 
of  the  present  term.     Such  were  the  facts.     It  stood  thus  :- 
Mr.  Moore  had  published  a  report  of  a  trial,  or  part  of  a  trial  ; 
if   what  he  stated  was  true,  misconduct  of  no   ordinary  km 
was  attributable  to  one  of  the  benchers  in  the  exercise  of  his  pul 

The  beach,  including  the  personage  thus  accused,  meet.    They 
do  not  investigate  the  facts ;  tboy  are  incompetent  to  inventi- 
Kate  any  facts  ;  their  meeting  is  held  in  secret,  and  they  inflict 
punishment  for  the  publication  of  that  which  they  do  not  accu. 
U)  be  a  falsehood.     Upon  this  subject  he  would  not,  for  the  pre* 
sent,  give  any  opinion  ;  although  he  should  be  sorry  any  one 
supposed  he  had  not  formed  a  distinct  opinion  on  it.     But  he 
would,  for  the  present,  concede  that  Mr.  Moore  was  guilty  o! 
some  offence   that  deserved  punishment.     The   question  wa* 
whether  the  benchers  had  any  jurisdiction  over  the  oftence.     It 
ss'as  a  question  of  great  importance  to  the  bar  in  every  point  o 
view      Their  property,  their  characters,  their  honour,  were 
involved  in  its  consideration.     No  man  could  well  consider  him- 
self safe  in  his  professional  pursuits,  if  any  body  of  men  assem- 
bled in  a  private  chamber,  without  power  to  administer  an  oath, 
or  examine  into  a  disputed  fact ;  without  form  of  indictment  or 
mode  of  pleading  ;  without  allowing  the  advantage  of  counsel, 
or  showing  the  grounds  of  decision,  were  entitled  to  vote  awaj 
the  profession  and  the  reputation  of  the  Irish  gentlemen  who  be- 
long to  the  bar. 


ESQ.,  Y..P.  r5 

These  wore  alarming  considerations  ;  ho  was  ready  to  *•) Tr.it 
the  respectability  of  the  persons  who  composed  this  secret  tri- 
bunal ;  it  was  not  against  the  individuals  he  complained,  it  was 
against  the  existence  of  the  thing  itself,  lie  conld  not  see  any  the 
least  necessity  for  its  existence.  The  Irish  bar  composed,  hn  *;u» 
convinced,  the  first  profession  in  the  world  ;  it  required  no  inquisi- 
torial power  to  keep  it  within  the  bounds  of  the  strictest  proprievj 
— nay,  it  possessed  the  most  certain  method  of  repressing  miscon- 
duct among  its  own  members,  by  the  moral  force  of  its  own  high 
character.  The  man  who  conducted  himself  in  a  manner  unbe- 
coming a  gentleman  would  shrink  abashed  from  their  society,  or, 
if  he  hau'nted  the  hall,  he  would  be  seen  to  glide  through  it  de- 
spised and  unnoticed,  and  solitary  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  ;  and 
if  greater  delinquency  phould  be  found,  it  would  meet  with  ex- 
clusion and  expulsion  from  the  entire  society,  who  were  alone 
capable  to  exclude,  but  who  could  never  conspire  against  an  in- 
dividual. 

This  inquisitorial  power  could  not  fie  necessary  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  judges  ;  it  was  ludicrous  to  suppose  that  it  could  ; 
the  judges  were  armed  with  abundant  power  for  their  own  pro- 
tection— they  could  commit  to  the  do^k,  they  could  force,  they 
could  imprison  at  their  own  discretion,  almost  at  their  caprice, 
for  the  slightest  disrespect.  All  these  powers  existed,  and  weie 
recognised  by'  the  law  ;  nay  more,  they  were  all  absolutely  ne- 
cessary for  the  due  administration  of  justice,  To  diminish  any 
one  of  them  would  be  to  render  it  difficult,  perhaps  impossible 
to  do  justice  effectually  between  angry  litigants  ;  but  those 
powers  have  been,  by  experience,  found  amply  sufficient  for  that 
purpose.  When,  however,  there  is  added  to  this,  the  natural 
effect  which  the  disfavour  of  the  judge  must  have  upon  the  suc- 
cess of  any  individual  barrister,  it  would  be  seen  at  once  how 
unnecessary  further  securities  were  ;  there  was  even  danger  of 
the  other  extreme,  and  servility  to  the  bench,  to  which  poor  hu- 
man nature  afforded  so  many  temptations,  could  be  guarded 
against  only  by  the  high-mindedness  of  educated  gentlemen,  who 
rather  condescended  to  belong  to  a  profession,  than  to  be  the 
slaves  of  its  emoluments. 

Without  the  independence  produced  by  this  spirit,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  be  honest  as  an  advocate  ;  for  that  advocate  is 
not  honest  who,  for  his  own  sake,  shrinks  from  the  manly  asser- 
tion of  his  client's  rights,  whatever  may  chance  to  be  the  imnrew- 
sions  of  the  bench  against  it  ;  but  at  the  Irish  bar,  where  the 
very  soul  of  honour  was  to  be  found,  th*H*e  was  no  dauqnr  of  any 


«6  aCLKCT  SPEECH  ffH  0* 

tone  being  adopted  but  that  which  would  dignify  hidiridi;*ls 
and  exalt  a  profession.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  said,  that  although 
it  is  dear  that  the  judges  had  sufficient  means  of  making  their 
authority  respected  in  court,  yet,  that  they  wauled  further 
grounds  for  contein-pts  committed  out  of  court,  and  the  case  -jf 
publication  of  a  false  and  libellous  account  of  a  trial  might  l»e 
Hu/ftained.  But  this  he  was  ready  to  deny,  because  there  existed 
already  abundant  means  of  punishment  for  such  contempts. 
There  were  attachments,  informations,  ex-ofncio  or  by  rule  of 
court,  indictments,  and  actions. 

Now,  for  example,  this  Mr.  Moore  might  have  been  proceeded 
against  in  any  of  these  ways  if  his  publication  were  false.     To 
;ui  action  he  was  liable,  but  there  the  truth  would  be  a  justifica- 
tion.    An  attachment  or  an  information,  by  rule  of  court  might 
be  obtained  against  him  ;  but  then  an  affidavit  must  be  made  of 
the  falsehood  of  his  statement,  and  he  who  swore  the  affidavit 
might  be  prosecuted  in  his  turn  ;  so  the  information  ex-officio, 
render  truth  or  falsehood  immaterial ;  but  in  a  case  of  this  kind 
a  jury  would,  in  law,  as  wbil  as  in  fact,  be  bound  to  acquit,  if 
Due  publication  were  proved  to  be  an  exaggerated  statement  of 
what  had  occurred  at  the  former  trial. 

It  only  remains  then  to  see  whether  any  person  will  be  found 
sufficiently  rash  to  assert,  that  this  tribunal,  called  the  bench- 
ers, was  calculated  to  punish  for  the  publication  of  the  truth — 
of  the  truth  of  what  occurred  in  the  presence  of  the  public — • 
in  a  public  court — at  a  public  trial.  It  would  be  grossly  tc 
calumniate  the  respectable  personages  who  composed  that  body, 
to  assert  that  such  was  the  jurisdiction  they  sought  to  exercise. 
It  was  important  first  to  consider  of  the  necessity  of  this  species 
of  tribunal,  before  any  discussion  arose  as  to  the  legality  of  its 
/urisdiction  ;  because  if  it  could  be  shown  to  him  that  such  a 
jurisdiction  was  necessary  for  either  the  honour  of  the  judges, 
or  the  convenience  of  the  suitors,  he  should  not  be  very  scrupu- 
lous in  investigating  its  origin,  on  the  foundation  of  its  autho- 
rity. But  being  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction,  that  the 
contrary  was  the  fact — that  this  tribunal  was  unnecessary — that, 
of  itself,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  best  of  men,  it  was 
unconstitutional  and  dangerous — that  its  immediate  effect  must 
be  to  crush  the  spirit  and  independence  of  the  bar,  and  to  con- 
vert an  honourable  and  liberal  profession  into  mere  retailers  of 
chicane,  and  servile  slaves  of  authority. 

With  this  impression  upon  his  mind,  he  must  solemnly  pro- 
test against  every  exercise  of  power  by  this  tribunal,  even  against 


0AXIEL  OCONNTCLL,  ESQ.,   M.P.  6T 

ft  guilty  individual,  and  conjure  the  bar,  at  once  to  ascertain 
their  rights,  and  to  trace  the  limits  of  this  jurisdiction,  so  that 
it  wiay  be  either  ascertained  to  be  a  mere  usurpation,  or  if  h 
have  a  legal  existence,  that  parliament  may  be  resorted  to  for  its 
ibclition.  For  his  part,  he  had  pnven  the  subject  all  the  atten- 
tion in  his  power  ;  he  had  investigated  all  the  sources  of  infor- 
mation on  this  subject,  and  he  had  convinced  himself,  that  the 
benchers  of  the  King's  Inns  had  no  legitimate  authority  over  the 
Irish  bar.  As  a  legal  or  corporate  body,  it  was  clear,  upon  theii 
own  confession,  that  they  had  no  existence.  In  the  late  case 
which  they  had  instituted  in  Chancery  against  a  Mr.  Caldbeck, 
»n  objection  was  taken  to  their  legal  capacity  to  sue ;  to  this 
objection  they  had  submitted,  and  their  incapacity  to  exercise 
corporate  functions  was,  therefore,  matter  of  record.  Prescrip- 
tive rights  they  could  claim  none ;  their  history  was  modern 
and  well  known  ;  charter  they  had  at  present  none  ;  about  six- 
teen years  ago  they  obtained  one,  with  an  act  of  parliament  to 
confirm  it ;  but  this  act,  which  had  passed  sub  silentio,  having 
been  discovered,  the  bar  remonstrated,  and  in  the  ensuing  ses- 
sions the  statute  and  charter  were  repealed.  Such  was  the  short 
history  of  this  formidable  tribunal ;  it  had  no  chartered  rights, 
no  powers  by  statute,  no  claim  to  prescriptive  authority.  It 
was,  indeed,  mentioned  in  two  more  statutes,  but  merely  to 
qualify  it  to  take  land  for  the  irposes  of  buildings.  Statutes 
that,  so  far  from  admitting  its  general  corporate  capacity,  were 
direct  evidence  that  none  such  was  in  existence. 

But  he  might  bo  told,  that  although  the  foundation  of  its 
authority  could  not  be  clearly  ascertained,  yet  that  facts  proved 
its  existence ;  and,  in  the  absence  of  argument,  precedents 
might  be  resorted  to,  a  thing  not  unusual.  There  were,  indeed 
four  instances  of  interference  by  the  benchers  with  the  bar  ;  four 
instances  in  which  men  had  been  struck  out  of  the  barristers' 
roll  upon  their  recommendation.  In  the  two  first,  the  cases  of 
School  and  Brody,  tne  profession  had  been  disgraced  by  the  com- 
mission of  the  crime,  he  believed,  of  perjury.  The  indignant 
Irish  bar  rejoiced  at  the  expulsion  of  such  men,  and  cared  little 
by  whom  they  were  kicked  out  of  the  hall.  The  other  two 
instances  were  those  of  Messrs.  Arthur  O'Connor  and  Thomas 
Addis  Emmett.  Those  gentlemen  had,  in  the  year  1799,  been, 
upon  a  similar  recommendation,  disbarred.  But  it  should  be 
recollected  that  they  first  stood  convicted,  upon  their  own  con- 
fession, of  being  traitors — that  they  had  forfeited  their  lives  to 


$*  8ELBCT  SPKKOHKJs  Ol" 

the  laws,  and  had  actually,  upon  an  agreement  with  governn-cuv, 
submitted  to  perpeti\al  banishment. 

When  he  spoke  of  the  crimes  of  those  gentlemen,  he  could  not 
but  express  the  regret  he  felt  at  mentioning  the  name  of  one  oi 
them,  with  whom  he  had  once  the  pleasure  to  be  personally 
acquainted.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  political  crimes  of 
Mr.  Emmett,  those  who  knew  him  were  bound  to  say,  that  a 
more  worthy  gentleman,  in  private  life,  never  lived.  But  bavin? 
abjured  the  realm,  the  benchers  exercised  the  superfluous  loyalty 
of  getting  them  excluded  from  the  list  of  Irish  barristers.  No 
person  was  interested  to  inquire  into  the  authority  by  which  so 
immaterial  a  result  had  been  produced.  Such  are  the  prece- 
dents, the  only  precedents  that  can  be  alleged.  What  do  they 
prove?  Just  nothing.  But,  perhaps  I  am  mistaken;  perhaps 
this  jurisdiction  does  exist ;  you  may  not  be  willing,  and  you 
^ught  not  to  submit  to  act  upon  my  researches  ;  yet  I  bope  I 
nave  said  enough  to  convince  you,  that  an  inquiry  ought  to  be 
instituted,  and  that  every  man  at  the  Irish  bar  may  know  upon 
what  footing  the  preservation  of  his  professional  property  and 
personal  honour  stands.  This  inquiry  should  be  conducted  in 
the  most  respected  monner  ;  no  offence  will  be  taken  where  none 
is  intended  ;  we  would  be  bound  to  make  tbe  inquiry  at  every 
risk  ;  but,  in  truth,  the  benchers  themselves  are  ready  to  con- 
cede much  to  the  general  feeling  of  the  bar.  To  this  feeling 
they  have  already  sacrificed  the  resolution  to  publisTi  their  cen- 
sure of  Mr.  Moore.  If  the  bar  declares  its  conviction  that  no 
such  inquisitorial  authority  does,  in  point  of  law,  and  that  none 
such,  in  point  of  fact,  ought  to  exist,  we  shall  never  again  hear 
of  the  cause  of  our  present  alarm. 

Mr.  O'Connell  moved,  '*  that  a  committee,  consisting  of  three 
of  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar,  be  appointed  to  ascertain  the  autho- 
rity of  the  benchers,  either  to  censure  or  disbar  a  barrister." 

The  benchers  not  only  gare  no  redress  fn  the  matter  dwelt  upon  in  the  foregoing  ^p«^cK 
bnt  were  guilty  <rf  the  additional  arrogance  and  injustice  of  not  paying  even  su  much  Atte» 
t  l«i  the  bar -remonstrance,  as  to  acknowledge  baring  received  it 


DANIEL  O'OUNSHLL,  ESI;.,  M.P.  69 


THE  REGENT'S  PLEDGES. 

fc  K  are  now  coiue  to  the  first  general  manife*uition  of  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Catho- 
Bcs,  upon  the  disappointment  of  their  hopes,  after  the  assassination  of  Mr.  PeicevaL  Th» 
«<reut  and  nature  of  that  disappointment  will  be  best  gathered  from  Mr.  O'Connell'* 
Rp«ech  It  was  at  this  meeting  that  the  resolutions  were  passed,  known  in  the  records  of 
Catholic  agitation  as  <-he  "  witchery"  resolutions.  In  the  third  resolution  will  be  found  the 
»Uuaion  that  supplied  the  designation  It  refers  to  the  shameful  entanglement  of  tlia 
Prince  Regent  with  Lady  Hertford — an  entang'ement,  by  means  of  which,  inriueiice  was 
axerted  over  him  to  entirely  destroy  what  remnant  of  honour  and  good  feeling  there  vva» 
jet  in  his  cold  and  selfish  heart. 

The  allusion  gave  great  offence,  not  only  in  the  quarter  for  which  it  waa  intended,  but 
also  to  many  of  the  Timorous  or  deceitful  "  friends,"  as  they  called  themselves,  but  gracious* 
patrons,  as  they  in  fact  assumed,  to  he,  of  the  Catholics.  By  them  it  was  strongly  repro- 
bated ;  but  the  bold  and  singularly-able  compiler  of  these  resolutions,  Denis  Scully,  cared 
little  for  the  offence,  when  seeking  to  give  vent  and  expression  to  the  mortified  and  indig 
nant  feelings  of  himself  And  fellows. 

The  Donoughmore  family,  then  true  to  Ireland — AS  one  of  them  has  again  recently 
proved  himself — wer*  not  amoufst  those  who  disapproved  of  this  scmi-d^claration.of  rup- 
ture with  the  IMnce  Regent,  anu  th«ir  approbation  of  it  wa»  an  additional  reason  for  per- 
•tsting. 

The  meeting  took,  place  at  Fighamble-street  Theatre,  on  Thursday,  June  18. 181  £ — Lord 
Fingal,  as  usual,  in  the  chair.  After  some  preliminary  matters,  Mr.  Hussey  rose,  and  gave 
•n  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  gentlemen  who  had  been  sent  to  London  on  the  part 
of  the  Catholics,  lit-  stated  that  on  applying  for  a  personal  interview  with  his  Royal 
Highness  the  Prince  Regent,  they  received  a  blunt  refusal,  and  were  informed  by  Mr. 
Secretary  Ryder,  that  the  address  to  his  Highness,  with  which  they  were  charged,  should 
be  presented  at  one  of  his  public  levees,  "  in  the  usual  way." 

Of  course  there  was  no  option  but  to  submit ;  and,  accordingly,  the  address  was  so  pa- 
tented, and  received,  too,  "  in  the  usual  way"  of  most  addresses  presented  on  such  occa- 
v.ons,  viz. :  the  announcement  of  its  purport  and  origin  being  all  that  was  allowed  to  to 
stated,  and  then  the  document  itself  being  handed  over  to  the  tender  care  and  entire  for 
getfulnesH  of  one  of  the  lords  in  waiting. 

"  His  Royal  Highness,"  said  Mr.  Hussey,  "  was  aot  pleased  to  moke  any  communication 
on  the  subject  to  the  Committee.  What  impression  was  made  upon  his  mind  was  not 
known ;  what  he  felt,  what  he  thought,  are  left  to  conjecture  (it  was  not  long  left  a  tnat- 
ter-of  mere  conjecture) ;  but  this  melancholy  fact  is  sufficiently  understood,  that  his  Royal 
Highness  did  not  think  fit  to  offer  any  recommendation  to  Parliament  upon  the  subject ; 
and  it  is  notorious  that  the  minister  seemed  to  have  acquired  new  zeal  in  propagating  his 
old  insinuations  against  the  Catholic  people,  and  in  repeating  his  old  experiment  against 
religious  liberty." 

The  resolutions  agret  1  upon  were  brought  forward  by  Mr.  O'Connell,  moved  by  Lord 
Killeen,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Barnewall. 

A  very  able  and  excellent  speech  followed  from  John  Finlay,  Esq.,  (at  present  Assistant 
Barrister  for  Roscommon  county),  to  whom  the  cause  was  much  indebted  for  powerful 
•ratory  and  useful  exertion*  on  many  occasions. 

The  reference  at  the  commencement  of  Mr.  O'ConneU'i  speech,  which  we  are  about  «• 
*ive,  U  to  the  gentleman  just  mentioned. 

I  have,  my  lord,  much  to  say,  but  I  shall  say  little  :  I  cannot 
venture  to  detain  you  after  my  eloquent  friend — after  the  bril- 
liuiit  display  you  have  just  witnessed  of  the  talents  and  powerful 
eloquence  of  my  Jeanuj-l  and  excellent  friend,  Mr.  Finlay.  Wt 


7"  KKLECT  SPKBfiHBS  OJT 

do,  indeed,  owe  him  much  :  I  waa  about  to  regrec  ihar.  he  wio; 
not  a  Catholic,  I  was  so  pleased  with  liiin,  and  so  anxious  uia? 
we  rni^ht,  hav«  the  crodit  of  such  talents;  but  when  I  consider. 
I  think  it  is  better  that  matters  should  be  as  they  are ;  for  it 
must  gratify  every  Catholic  in  Ireland  to  have  Protestant  talent 
such  as  his  come  forward  to  grace  and  support  our  as^'in  lilies; 
and  it  is  a  new  source  of  unconquerable  strength  to  our  cause, 
to  have  Protestant  and  Catholic  equally  ardent  in  the  struggle 
in  which  we  are  engaged.  His  are  talents  which  ministerial  cor- 
ruption could  not  purchase,  for  they  are  beyond  all  price. 

'Inty  calls  upon  rne  to  address  you  ;  I  may  bo  mistaken  ; 
but  I  consider  it  as  my  duty — upon  a  subject,  painful  in  itself, 
yet  as  speaking  upon  it  may  be  beneficial  in  its  consequences,  1 
•will  not  shrink  from,  nor  decline  it  :  I  allude  my  lord,  to  the 
public  assertion  of  some  of  the  many  pledges  which  his  Royal 
Highness  the  Prince  liegent  was  graciously  pleased  to  tender  to 
the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  before  any  part  of  the  executive  autho- 
rity of  the  state  had  devolved  upon  him. 

I  shall  stato  but  a  few  of  them :  I  do  it  without  any  breach  of 
confidence,  or  violating  any  honorary  engagement,  either  ex- 
presood  or  implied.  Without  egotism,  perhaps  I  may  say,  that 
no  person  will  charge  me  with  being  guilty  of  either — and  I  defy 
my  enemies,  who  are  mine  only  because  they  liate  or  oppress  my 
poor  country,  to  insinuate  tho  slightest  doubt  of  the  veracity  of 
my  assertions. 

I  shall  bring  before  the  public,  for  the  present,  but  four  ol 
those  pledges.  1  am  sorry  they  were  not  formerly  made  gene- 
rally public ;  for  if  they  had,  no  man  could  have  been  so  profli- 
gate as  to  advise  the  Prince  to  anything  tending  towards  a  viola- 
tion of  them,  and  much  of  the  anxiety  and  distrust  which  now 
distract  the  mind  of  the  nation,  might  have  been  spared  ;m<i 
avoided. 

Tho  first  in  rank,  though  not  in  order  of  time,  is  that  com- 
municated to  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  by  his  Grace  the  Duke  <>f 
Bedford.  He  lives — my  witness  lives  :  what  is  said  here  will 
probably  reach  him  through  the  public  papers ;  and  I  call  upon 
him,  publicly  to  contradict  anything  I  advance,  which  is  not 
literally  warranted  by  the  fact.  Thus,  then,  do  I  state,  that  in 
1806,  about  the  commencement  of  tho  Fox  administration,  when 
the  Catholics,  flushed  with  hope  at  seeing  their  late  advocates  in 
power,  were  about  to  prepare  petitions  to  parliament,  the  minis 
try  used  many  means  to  postpone  that  measure.  At  that  pwiod, 
and  us  one  of  tho*p  ineu;;a.  his  Grace  the  I)  ifc«  of  Bedford,  then 


TAN-ITI    PCVNXTIU  I*Q..  X  T.  71 


Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  did  communicate  to  She  Catholic* 
of  Ireland,  the  wish  of  his  Roval  Highness  the  Prinoe  of  Wait*, 
that  the  question  should  not  then  1*  agitated  ;  and  at  the  aaroe 
time,  his  decided  conviction  of  the  justice  of  our  claims,  and  hit 
decided  resolution  to  admit  them  whenever  he  should  hare  power 
to  do  so. 

Perhaps  I  can  state  this  pledgo  ;  but  I  see  persons  before  me 
to  whom  this  language  was  held  ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  the 
Duke  of  Bedford  would  never,  never  have  conveyed  one  idea  on 
the  subject,  if  he  had  not  his  authority  directly  from  the  Prince. 

Secondly,  my  lord,  we  have  had  in  the  same  year,  the  name 
pledge  repeated  to  miiny  Catholics,  by  the  Ch&noeUor  of  Ireland, 
George  Ponsonby. 

The  keeper  of  his  Majesty's  Irish  conscience  must  be  supposed 
to  have  had  a  kind  of  reversionary  solicitude  for  that  of  his  Koyal 
Highness,  the  heir  apparent  Mr.  Ponsonby  do  I  understand. 
distinctly  avow  the  authority  under  which  he  communicated  to 
the  Irish  Catholics,  the  promise  of  emancipation  —  when,  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  he  whom  we  then  cherished  as  the  early  friend 
of  Ireland,  and  the  proudest  hope,  should  have  it  in  his  ]H>wer 
to  rouse  the  enthusiasm  of  an  elective  people  round  his  throne, 

Good  God  !  what  a  prodigal  waste  has  since  luvn  tvmmitted 

—  not  of  wealth,  for  that,  comparatively,  is  no  more  than  trash 

—  but  of  the  cheerful  and  best  defence  of  the  monarch,  the  Irish 
people's  love. 

The  third  pledge  is  a  written  one,  and  is  in  the  possession  of 
a  Catholic  peer,  not  now  present.  1  have  not  the  honour  to  l>e  suf- 
ficiently known  to  the  Karl  of  Kcnmare,  to  have  applied  to  him 
for  it  ;  but  I  entertained  hopes  of  being  able  to  procure  it  through 
a  friend  of  mine,  and  of  his  lordship.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  of 
that  pledge,  that  it  afforded  for  years  consolation  to  the  Irish 
Catholics  ;  and  the  discretion  with  which  it  was  communicated. 
enhanced  its  value.  I  believe,  my  lord,  I  need  not  state  to  you 
how  little  doubt  it  could  leave  of  the  firm  decision  of  the  Prince'* 
mind  upon  our  question. 

The  fourth  and  last  pledge,  which,  for  the  present,  I  .-dial  I 
mention,  was  that  given  by  his  Koyal  Highness  to  a  nohle  lord 
now  present.  At  the  conversation  1  allude  to,  that  noblo  lord 
wa*  accompanied  by  the  late  Lord  Petre,  and  tlw  present.  Lord 
Clifden.  After  retiring  from  the  presence  of  his  Koyal  JHgU- 
ne*«,  the  declarations  which  he  was  so  graciously  pleased  to  mak«>, 
were  from  a  loyal  and  affectionate  impulse  of  gratitude,  com- 
mitted to  vritinq.  and  signed  by  the  three  nnbta  lords 


72  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

His  Royal  Highness  did,  I  understand,  oifer  something  like  an 
apology,  for  not  having  taken  an  active  part  in  promoting  the 
success  of  our  petition,  in  1805.  He  was  pleased  to  yay,  that 
obvious  motives  of  delicacy  restrained  his  interference  on  poh- 
vical  subjects,  but  that  this  delicacy  was  «till  more  imperative  on 
.mr  question.  However,  he  desired  it  to  be  understood  that  he 
had  formed  his  opinion  upon  it,  and  would  ever  entertain  them 
*  oaltered.  They  were,  that  concession  to  the  Irish  Catholics 
were  required,  not  only  by  reasons  of  expediency  and  policy,  but 
by  the  first  principles  of  justice. 

J  will  not  add — I  must  not  add  one  woid  more  on  this  sub- 
ject. These  were  the  sentiments  of  his  Royal  Highness :  we 
should  have  proclaimed  them  last  year,  and  no  minister  would 
have  been  found  sufficiently  profligate  to  have  disappointed  our 
certain  expectations  of  immediate  relief:  nor  has  his  Royal 
Highness,  to  this  hour,  by  any  personal  act  of  his — by  any  pub- 
lic declaration,  or  recommendation  to  parliament,  retracted  any 
part  of  these  sentiments.  Let  us,  then,  fondly  and  respectfully 
hope  that  they  are  unaltered.  Sure  I  am  that  110  base  million 
will  venture  to  assert,  that  the  air  of  Manchester-square  has  in- 
fected the  royal  mind  with  simples,  or  that  Lord  Yarmouth  ha* 
inoculated  him  with  the  theory  or  practice  of  excessive  piety. 

We  may  still  hope.  Hope,  the  last  refuge  of  the  wretched,  is 
!eft  us  ;  and  we  lately  indulged  it  almost  with  the  pleasures  of 
certainty  :  a  crime,  the  horrid  crime  of  causeless  assassination, 
had  deprived  England  of  her  prime  minister — tor,  my  lord, 
everywhere  but  in  Ireland,  assassination  is  admitted  to  be  a 
crime.  Here,  also,  it  depends  on  circumstances  ;  you  have  but 
to  combine  these  circumstances.  Let  the  victim  be  an  Irish 
Papist — let  the  murderer  be  an  Orangeman — and  let  a  legal 
junta  administer  the  government  in  the  name  of  the  Duke  of 
Richmond.  It  requires  no  more  to  turn  murder  into  merit ! 

The  process  in  England  is  different.  T  here  they  hanged  and 
dissected  the  murderer,  and  transferred  the  advantages  of  the 
crime,  if  I  may  so  express  myeelf,  to  the  victim  ;  it-  really  and 
truly  has  been  considered  a  merit  in  Mr.  Peroeval  to  have  been 
murdered.  The  public  men  in  England  seem  to  think  his  death 
constituted  not  only  an  expiation  for  all  his  political  sins,  but 
turned  his  otfences  against  his  country  into  virtues. 

For  my  part,  T  feel  unaffected  horror  at  his  fate,  and  all  trace 
of  resentment  for  his  crimes  is  obliterated.  But  I  do  uoi  Ibr^et 
that  be  was  a  narrow-minded  bigot,  a  paltry  statesman,  and  a 
oad  minister — tliat  every  Bptjeiua  oi  public  corruption  and  prolii- 


DAMSL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  73 

gacy  hao  in  him  a  flippant  and  pert  advocate — that  every  advance 
towards  reform  or  economy,  had  in  him  a  decided  enemy — and 
that  the  liberties  of  the  people  were  an  object  of  his  derision. 

All  this  has  not  been  changed  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin; 
yet  I  do,  from  my  heart,  participate  in  the  grief  and  anguish 
which  his  premature  fall  must  have  excited  within  his  domestic 
circle.  The  sorrows  of  his  family  have  been  obtruded  on  the 
public  by  ill-judging  party  writers,  with  something  like  ostenta- 
tious affectation  ;  but  I  do  not  love  the  man — nay,  I  hate  the 
man  who  could  contemplate,  coldly  and  unmoved,  the  affecting 
spectacle  of  the  wife  and  children  standing  in  speechless  agony 
round  tne  lifeless  body  of  the  murdered  husband  and  father ;  if 
\vas  a  scene  to  make  a  stoic  weep. 

But  are  all  our  feelings  to  1-e  exhausted  by  the  great?  Is 
there  no  compassio  i  for  the  wretched  Irish  widow,  who  lost  he1: 
boy — her  hope,  her  support  ?  I  shall  never  forget  the  pathetic 
and  Irish  simplicity  with  which  she  told  her  tale  of  woe— "My 
child  was  but  seventeen  ;  he  left  me  on  Sunday  morning,  quite 
vrell.  and  very  merry,  and  he  came  home  a  corpse."  Are  hei 
feelings  to  be  despised  and  trampled  on  ?  Is  the  murderer  OJ 
her  son  to  remain  unpunished,  perhaps  to  be  rewarded?  Ob 
yes ;  for  Byrne  was  a  Papist,  and  the  assassin,  Hall,  was  ai, 
Orangeman,  nay,  a  purple  marksman  :  and,  recollect,  that  hU 
(Jrace  the  Duke  of  Kichmoud  did  not  pardon  him  until  after  a 
most  fair  and  patient  trial.  Hall  was  defended  by  his  counsel 
and  attorney ;  he  was  tried  by  a  jury  of  his  own  selection — I  $&y 
of  his  own  selection — because  be  exhausted  but  few  of  his  peremp- 
tory challenges;  nobody,  indeed,  would  think  of  accusing  honest 
Sheriff  James  of  packing  a  jury  against  an  Orangeman.  Even 
had  the  list  been  previously  submitted  to  the  secretary  at  the 
Castle,  he  would  not 'have  altered  a  single  name;  Sir  Charles 
Saxton  might  have  reviewed  it  with  perfect  safety  to  the  prisoner 

After  a  patient  trial,  and  a  full  defence,  Hall  was  convicted ; 
he  was  convicted  before  a  judge,  certainly  not  unfavourable  to 
the  prisoner ;  he  was  convicted  of  having  murdered,  with  the 
irnis  entrusted  to  him  for  the  defence  of  the  public  peace,  and 
in  the  public  streets  of  your  city,  and  in  the  open  day,  an  imx>- 
coiit  and  unoffending  youth.  He  has  been  pardoned  and  set  at 
large — perhaps  he  has  been  rewarded;  but  can  this  be  done  with 
•mpunity  ?  is  there  no  vengeance  for  the  blood  of  the  widow's 
feoii?  Alas  !  1  am  not,  I  trust,  inclined  to  superstition,  yet  it 
ut'trnded  itself  on  my  mind,  that  the  head  of  that  government 
li  had  ali.jwe'»  the  blood  of  liyme  to  flow  unrequited,  niigiit 

F 


7  i  SELECT  8PEECHBB  OF 

Lave  vindicated  the  notion  of  a  pi  evidential  visitation  for  the 
unpunished  crime. 

My  lord,  I  have  digressed-;  I  meant  to  speak  of  Perceval's 
removal  by  the  assassin,  merely  as  that  tragic  event  opened  a 
near  prospect  of  our  emancipation  :  we  should  have  been  eman- 
cipated. At  the  moment  I  am  speaking,  the  bill  for  our  relief 
would  have  been  in  its  progress  through  the  legislature — we 
should  have  been  emancipated  this  very  sessions,  unconditionally 
and  completely  emancipated  ;  but  for  what  ? — I  speak  it  in  no 
anger,  but  in  the  deepest  sorrow — but  for  Lord  Moira. 

Lord  Moira  is  a  name  that  I  have  never  before  pronounced 
without  enthusiasm  ;  I  am  quite  aware  of  his  high  honour,  his 
unbounded  generosity,  his  chivalrous  spirit ;  his  heart  has  ever 
been  without  fear,  his  intentions  have  ever  been,  and  will  ever 
be,  without  reproach ;  Ireland  was  justly  proud  of  him  ;  where 
could  his  fellow  be  met  with  ?  In  the  disastrous  period  that 
preceded  the  Union — at  the  time  that  measure  was  in  prepara- 
tion— when  Foster  and  Clare  banished  Abercrombie  from  Ire- 
la- id.  because  he  was  humane — when  murders  marked  the  day, 
and  the  burning  cottages  of  the  peasantry  illumined  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night — when  affright  and  desolation  stalked  through 
the  land — when  it  was  a  crime  to  love  Ireland,  and  death  to 
defend  her ;  at  that  awful  moment,  Moira,  the  good,  the  great 
Moira,  threw  himself  between  his  country  and  her  persecutors  ; 
he  exposed  their  crimes ;  he  denounced  their  horrors ;  he  pro- 
claimed and  proved  their  guilt ;  and,  although  they  were  too 
powerful  to  be  beaten  down  by  him,  he  has  left  his  country  the 
sad  consolation  of  beholding  a  perpetual  record  of  the  infamy 
of  her  oppressors. 

Good  God  !  if  his  advice  had  been  taken  in  1797,  what  inno- 
cent blood  would  have  been  spared  ;  how  many  cruel  oppressors 
would  have  been  punished;  and  oh!  our  country  would  still  have 
a  name,  and  be  a  nation  ! 

Can  these  services  be  forgotten — can  these  virtues  be  unre- 
membered  ?  No,  never  ;  but  still  the  truth  must  be  told.  This 
is  Lord  MoircCs  administration.  He  it  was  that  stood  between 
some  worthless  minions  and  the  people's  hopes.  He  had  to 
chpose  between  them ;  and  he  has  given  his  protection,  not  to 
Ireland  or  the  Catholics,  but  to  Lord  Yarmouth  and  his  family. 
It  is  now  confessed  that  a  single  word  from  Lord  Moira  would 
have  dismissed  the  minions,  and  placed  Earl  Grey  and  Lord 
Ure.nville  at  the  head  of  affairs.  Why  was  not  that  fated  word 
pronounced?  Alas!  I  know  not.  Full  sure,  however,  I  aaa; 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,   ESQ.,  M.P.  75 

that  the  intention  which  restrained  it  was  pure  and  honourable  ; 
but  I,  at  the  same  time,  feel  its  fatal  effects.  We  are,  my  lord, 
to  continue  slaves,  because  Lord  Moira  indulged  some  chivalrous 
notions  of  courtly  romance  ! 

It  may  bo  said,  that  as  Lord  Moira  has  interfered,  the  Catho- 
lics may  r'^sonably  expect  some  relief.  Let  us  not  be  deceived. 
From  tb  ,  present  ministry  we  cannot  expect  anything.  Our 
best  an'7,  boldest  advocate,  Lord  Donoughmore.  has,  in  his  manly 
reply  to  our  address,  offered  the  best  advice  that  ever  was  given 
to  the  Catholic  people  of  Ireland.  He  has  suggested  the  grounds 
of  caution  and  jealousy.  We  know  his  devotion  to  our  cause  ; 
but  this  last  proof  of  his  zeal  and  vigorous  integrity,  has  ren- 
dered it  impossible  that  we  should  ever  be  sufficiently  grateful. 
I  am  proud  that  your  resolutions  re-echo  his  sentiments. 

But,  in  sober  sadness,  in  whom  are  we  to  confide  1  Are  we 
to  believe  the  word  of  Castlereagh?  My  lord,  I  would  not 
believe  his  oath.  Already  has  he  been  deeply  pledged.  He 
was  an  United  Irishman,  and,  as  such,  must  have  taken  their 
test.  It  was  then  administered,  I  believe,  without  the  ceremo- 
nies of  an  oath,  but  it  had  all  the  solemnity  of  that  obligation. 
It  pledged  him  to  Catholic  Emancipation  and  Parliamentary 
Reform.  Again,  my  lord,  upon  the  hustings  of  the  Down  Elec- 
tion, he  was  called  upon,  and  he  volunteered  a  similar  declara- 
tion. It  was  a  bond,  solemnly  given  to  his  constituents  and  bis 
country.  But  how  has  he  redeemed  those  pledges  1  Why,  he 
has  emancipated  the  Catholics  by  duping  some  of  them  at  the 
Union,  and  uniformly  voting  upon  every  question  against  us ; 
and  he  has  reformed  the  parliament  by  selling  it  to  the  British 
miirister.  May  this  Walcheren  minister  be  suitably  rewarded 
in  the  execration  of  his  country  ;  and  may  he  have  engraved  on 
his  tomb  for  an  epitaph — 

••  Vendidit  hie  auro  patriam." 

No,  my  lord,  from  us  Castlereagh  can  obtain  no  confidence, 
nor  can  his  colleague,  Lord  Sidmouth,  expect  that  the  friends  of 
toleration  can  confide  in.  his  promises.  Lord  Sidmouth,  who  de- 
clared to  parliament  that  he  would  prefer  the  re-enactment  of 
hie  penal  code  to  the  extension  of  one  other  privilege  to  the  Ca- 
tholics ;  Lord  Sidmouth,  who  began  his  absurd  career  of  perse- 
cution with  the  Dissenters  in  England  ;  that  Lord  Sidraoutb 
(liberal  and  enlightened  gentleman)  has  been  selected  for  the 
Lome  department;  he  it  is  who  is  to  ispuJa**  the  motions  of 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


C111LJVU1CV4.    XIVA  W     •       »     *-~    £-.J^'*~F     •  f  V 

designate  themselves,  who  manage  the  legal  administration 
this  country  ;  mon  who  have  worked  themselves  into  reputatioi 
with  ancient  maidens  and  decayed  matrons,  by  gravity  of  deport 
ment  and  church  wardening  piety,  bnt  who,  all  their  lives,  have 
been  discounting  religion  and  the  Diety  into  promotion  and  the 
pay  and  plunder  of  office— those  men,  together  with  our  Jrunv. 
(the  Solicitor-  General,)  have  a  suitable  companion  in  Lord  Sid- 
mouth,  and  we  should,  instead  of  concessions,  be  prepared  rathu 
to  expect  borne  other  persecution,  grounded,  if  possible,  upon  a 
pretext  still  more  absurd  than  that  "pretence  means  purpose  ; 
that  assertion,  whish  I  dory  an  honest  man,  however  credulous, 

to  believe. 

From  this  ministry  we  expect  nothing;  let  us  be  on  our  guard, 
and  cautiously  watch  their  progress.  As  Lord  Moira  has  been 
their  patron,  they  will  endeavour  to  deceive  him  with  a  show  ot 
concession;  but  their  object  is  to  give  a  change  to  the  question. 
In  its  present  shape  it  presses  upon  them  with  all  the  force  of 
present  expediency,  and  all  the  weight  of  eternal  justice, 
they  could  entrap  us  into  collateral  discussions  ;  if  they  coul.i 
entangle  us  in  the  chicanery  of  arrangements  and  sccuriticb,  the 
publi^  attention  would  be  distracted  and  turned  from  the  prin- 
cipal object ;  time  worild  be  wasted  in  useless  discussions  ;  ani- 
mosities would  be  created  upon  points  of  little  real  importance, 
and  whilst  the  ministry  practised  the  refinements  of  bigotry, 
they  would  give  themselves  credit  for  unbounded  liberality. 

These  are  not  imaginary  fears  ;  the  nature  of  the  subject  must 
^onvince  any  man,  that  such  was  the  design  of  an  administratiorj 
that  had,  for  its  only  recommendations,  intolerance  and  incapa 

B1  Indeed,  the  indiscretion  of  the  party  already  betrayed  itself. 
It  is  not  twenty-four  hours  since  a  friend  of  mine  had  occasion 
to  converse  with  one  of  those  right  honourables,  who  did  the 
business  of  the  Castle,  who  are  always  as  ready  to  pack  juries  as 
to  obtain  pardon  for  an  assassin,  or  to  write  paragraphs  m  the 
Patriot  My  friend  said,  "Why,  you  are  going,  1  find,  to  eman- 
cipate the  Catholics  at  length."  "  We  1"  replied  the  other  «  Oh, 
no  !  Canning's  motion  will  entangle  the  rascals  completely  ;  we 
feliall  easily  get  rid  of  them  without  committing  ourselves." 

Of  those  men,  Lord  Donoughmore  has  advised  us  to  be  dis 
trustful.  I  beg  leave  to  say  more.  Let  us  utterly  disbelieve 


DAST'ZL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  77 

them.  It  is  impossible  that  they  can  do  anything  for  us  ;  they 
would  be  false  to  themselves  if  they  were  true  to  Ireland.  But 
we  are  not  without  our  resources  ;  we  have  them  in  ourselves  ; 
we  have  them  in  the  liberality  of  our  Irish  Protestant  brethren ; 
we  have  them  in  the  support  of  such  men  as  the  all-accomplished 
Vernon,  son  to  the  Archbishop  of  York — as  the  honest  and  in- 
dependent Robert  Shaw.  We  have  also  a  rich  resource  in  the 
eternal  ridicule  with  which  bigotry  has  lately  covered  itself  in 
the  persons  of  its  chosen  apostles,  Paddy  Duignan  and  Jack 
Giflfard  ;  but,  above  all,  we  are  strong  in  the  justice  of  our  cause 
and  in  the  unextinguishable  right  of  man,  in  every  soil  and  cli- 
mate, to  unlimited  liberty  of  conscience.  Let  us,  however,  ex- 
pect nothing  from  the  mere  patronage  of  courts  and  ministers. 
The  advice  given  by  a  noble  advocate  of  ours,  to  other  slaves,  in 
a  poem,  that  it  is  impossible  to  read  without  delight,  is  not  in- 
applicable to  our  situation  : — 

"  Hereditary  bondsmen !  know  ye  not, 

Who  would  be  free,  themselves  must  strike  the  blov— 
By  their  right  arms  the  conquest  must  be  wrought ; 

Will  Gaul  or  Muscortte  redress  you  ?— No. 
True,  they  may  lay  your  proud  despoilers  low, 
But  not  for  you  will  freedom's  altar  flume. 
Shades  of  the  Helots  !  triumph  o'er  your  foe- 
Greece  change  thy  lords,  thy  state  is  still  the  same. 
Thy  glories  all  are  o'er,  but  not  thy  years  of  shame.' 

Yes,  we  must,  after  all,  look  to  ourselves — to  a  perseverance 
IQ  a  course  of  temperate,  but  firm  exertion — to  that  blow  which 
we  can  strike  on  Prejudice  by  the  force  of  Reason,  and  the  un- 
ceasing exhibition  of  our  meritorious  conduct. 

It  i«  tn>e,  that  after  common  sense  has  overthrown  every  pre- 
rence  that  there  is  anything  in  the  Catholic  religion  hostile  to 
.oyalty  or  liberty  ;  another  ground  has  been  long  since  taken, 
and  from  time  to  time  revived,  by  the  unhappy  dulness  of  one 
pedant  or  the  other.  It  consists  in  an  adnission  that  the  Catholic 
religion  is  quite  innocent,  and  even  laudable  in  other  countries; 
but  that  it  acquires  malignity  from  the  soil  on  its  transplanta- 
tion into  Ireland.  In  short  that  other  Papists  are  innocent  or 
good  ;  but  that  Irish  Papists  are  execrable. 

This  precious  doctrine;has  been  dressed  up  anew,  in  sufficiently 
bad  English,  and  published  in  a  pamphlet  called  a  "  Speech,"  by 
tluit  snug  little  Foster,  who  represents  Trinity  College  in  Parlia- 
Dient.  It  is  added,  too,  with  most  admirable  consistency,  that 
the  mass  of  the  Iri*h  Papists  are  quite  indifferent  to  the  question 


78  SELECT  SPERL'HES    OF 

of  Catholic  Emancipation.  But  see  what  the  fact.  is.  Look  t« 
the  liistory  of  the  last  six  months  for  the  contradiction  of  those 
viie  assertions.  Why,  the  Protestants  of  Ireland  had  only  to 
aliow  their  wish  to  relieve  us — they  could  do  no  more  than  ex- 
press their  inclination  to  set  us  free.  The  Union  deprived  them 
ot  the  power  to  give  us  liberty ;  but  they  declared  it  was  our  right, 
a,ud  they  joined  us  in  demanding  it.  What  followed  ?  Why,  in 
the  first  place,  a  season  of  unexampled  scarcity  and  distress  in 
both  islands.  In  Ki^land  there  chanced  to  exist  tumult,  not, 
destruction  of  property,  murder,  insurrection,  and  almost  actual 
rebellion.  In  Ireland  there  was  seen  tranquillity  the  most  pro- 
found, obedience  the  most  perfect;  pressed  by  famine  and  want, 
goaded  by  insulting  prosecutions,  by  arranged  juries,  by  the 
thousand  other  wrongs  which  I  shall  not  name,  the  people  of 
Ireland  have  found  abundant  consolation  in  the  single  liberality 
of  their  countrymen,  and  they  have  shown  their  sense  of  this  libe- 
rality by  dutiful  ani  unbroken  submission  at  those  moments  of 
the  greatest  peril  England  has  as  yet  known.  Not  a  feather  is  ruf- 
fled on  the  surface  of  our  island.  The  Caravat  and  the  Shanavest 
seem  to  have  forgotten  their  quarrels  ;  and  every  angry  tone  and 
turbulent  propensity  is  hushed  by  the  presence  of  the  spirit  of 
universal  toleration. 

In  the  meantime,  the  precious  hours  for  peace  and  conciliation 
are  wasted — the  genius  of  Napoleon,  the  star  of  his  imperial 
house,  prevails.  England,  under  the  guidance  of  the  venerated 
name  of  Moira,  has  appointed  an  administration  first  rejected, 
and  then  approved  by  parliament,  for  the  appointment  of  which 
Napoleon  would  have  given  millions.  How  he  must  rejoice  to 
see  the  parliament  degrade  itself  by  inconsistent  votes — to  see 
the  Dissenters  and  Catholics  insulted  by  the  nomination  of  Lord 
Sidmouth  to  rule  the  Home  Department — to  see  Walcheren 
Castlereagh  conducting  our  war  counsels  ;  and,  last  and  wonder- 
ful, to  see  Lord  Liverpool  prime  minister ! ! 

My  lord,  securities  are  wanting ;  they  are  wanting  for  the  last 
refuge  of  public  liberty — the  only  remnant  of  representative 
government  in  Europe,  ^.liey  are  wanting  for  the  throne  and  the 
people ;  they  are  wanting  against  the  folly,  the  incapacity,  the 
intolerance  of  the  ministry — against  the  power  and  the  talents  of 
the  French  Emperor.  He,  . .  be  sure,  is  absent  for  a  season- 
he  is  gone  to  Potersburgh,  to  receive  the  submission  of  a  vassal, 
or  to  dethrone  an  enemy.  It  is  absurd  to  expect  any  othor  re- 
sult ;  he  will  return  with  his  hundreds  of  thousands  to  the  con- 
quest of  Spain  and  Portugal.  What  can  the  unarmed  bands  'if 


DANIEL  OCONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  7S 

the  one  country,  or  our  few  companies  in  the  other  (though 
braver  spirits  than  our  brothers  and  kinsmen  there  never  graced 
a  field  of  fight) — what  can  they  be  able  to  do,  overmatched  by 
myriads?  And  then,  my  lord — and  then,  in  what  condition  shal, 
those  countries  be  found  to  fight  the  battle  of  our  existence  ? 

It  is  to  prepare  for  that  dreadful  moment,  which  is  so  steadily 
jn  its  progress,  that  all  my  anxieties  are  roused.  I  should  feai 
it  not,  if  a  system  of  conciliation  and  mutual  tolerance  were 
once  adopted — if  justice  were  distributed  by  the  hand  of  con- 
fiding generosity — if  the  persecutions  ceased,  and  that  the  per- 
secutors were  removed — if  Grey  were  prime  minister,  and  Moira, 
then  restored  to  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  were  lord  lieute- 
nant. Every  village  would  produce  a  regiment,  and  every  field 
serve  for  a  redoubt.  The  Prince  would  then  be  safe  and  glorious ; 
and  the  country,  combined  in  its  strength,  would  laugh  to  scorn 
the  power  of  every  enemy. 

This  is  a  vision  ;  but  it  might  have  been  realised.  And  why 
has  this  prospect  been  closed  ?  Why  ! — to  preserve  the  household  ! 
Oh,  most  degrading  recollection  !  My  feelings  overpower  me — 
1  must  be  silent, 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION. 

ON  the  2nd  of  July,  another  aggregate  meeting  of  the  Catholics  Aook  place,  to  agree  upon  a 
petition  to  be  presented  in  the  ensuing  session. 

That  some  change  had  occurred  in  their  prospects  within  the  brief  interval  since  fheir 
preceding  meeting,  will  be  evident  from  the  extracts  we  are  about  to  give  from  the  news- 
paper report*. 

Lord  Flngal,  on  taking  the  chair,  congratulated  the  meeting  on  their  case  "  being  before 
parliament,  under  the  favourable  consideration  of  the  legislature,  and  certain  of  being  ulti- 
mately triumphant.  .  .  .  The  bringing  of  the  Penal  Code  under  notice 
was  ensuring  success  to  the  Catholic  cause;  because  it  was  impossible  to  consider  its  pro- 
v,sions,  without  having  the  mind  coerced  to  assent  to  its  repeaS.  He  did  not  rejoice  at 
their  improved  prospects  because  of  any  peculiar  benefit  to  himself;  he  did  not  rejoice  ct 
it  as  opening  new  hopes  and  expectations  to  the  friends  he  saw  about  him,  or  to  those  vho 
were  now  fighting  the  battles  of  England  in  Spain  or  Portugal ;  his  gratification  sprung 
from  another  source— from  his  anticipation  of  seeing  the  whole  empire  foe'.,  in  secant  y 
and  prosperity,  the  benefits  of  equal  rights  and  undisturbed  tranquillity." 

His  lordship  was  followed  by  Randal  M'Donnell,  who  spoke  nearly  in  the  s«me  strain 
and  strongly  urged  the  necessity  of  continued  and  increased  exertion  on  the  part  of  the 
Catholics  to  back  up  the  efforts  of  their  friends  in  parliament. 

He  was  followed  by  Mr.  O'Connell,  who  is  thus  reported  in  the  Dublin  Ev«ntnj  Pott  of 
the  4th  of  July,  1812:— 

Mr.  O'Connell  commenced  by  paying  some  very  appropriate 
compliments  to  the  merits  and  exertions  of  the  secretary  to  tin- 


8(J  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Catholics  of  Ireland,  Mr.  Hay — a  gentleman  to  whom  we  owed 
that  tribute,  as  well  from  feelings  of  private  friendship  as  from 
motives  of  public  gratitude.  Mr.  Hay  had  devoted  his  life  to  the 
service  of  the  Irish  people,  and  refused  to  receive  any  other  recom- 
pense than  what  was  to  be  found  in  the  barren  praises  of  hi? 
countrymen. 

After  a  panegyric  on  the  public  virtues  of  Mr.  Hay,  Mr. 
O'Connell  proceeded.  He  said  the  Catholics  were  assembled  at 
the  most  momentous  period  of  their  history.  We  have  to  con- 
template a  novel  scene — the  parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
after  nearly  twelve  years  of  neglect  or  rejection,  had  at  length 
undertaken  the  consideration  of  our  great  cause.  One  branch  of 
the  legislature,  by  a  triumphant  majority,  resolved  to  investigate 
the  Penal  Code  of  Ireland,  with  a  view  to  its  repeal ;  and  perhaps 
before  this  hour,  a  similar  resolution  has  been  adopted  by  the 
House  of  Lords. 

The  voice  of  the  House  of  Commons  was,  at  all  events,  certain. 
In  it  the  Irish  people  had  a  distinct  pledge,  that  the  .question  of 
their  freedom  was  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  for  the  purpose 
of  final  adjustment,  at  an  early  period  of  the  next  session.  The 
House  of  Commons  was  unequivocally  pledged  to  some  measure 
of  Emancipation.  The  effect  of  this  vote  might  perhaps  be  di- 
minished, when  it  was  recollected  that,  during  the  present  ses- 
sion the  same  honourable  house  had,  more  than  once,  rejected 
all  inquiry  ;  but  times  were  altered,  and  we  have  now  arrived  at 
what  appears  to  be  the  first  great  step  in  the  progress  to  com- 
plete religious  liberty.  The  preliminary  to  Emancipation  is 
over ;  and  Emancipation  itself,  full  and  entire,  is  the  natural,  if 
not  the  necessary  consequence. 

Feeling,  as  I  do,  the  great  advance  that  has  been  made  in  this 
natu-mJ  cause,  I  cannot  avoid  declaring  that  I  am  happy  and 
rroud  to  concur  with  your  lordship  in  all  those  sentiments  of 
conciliation  and  confidence  which  you  have  so  powerfully  recom- 
mended. I  rejoice,  my  lord,  at  our  victory — not  as  the  conquest 
of  one  party  over  another,  nor  with  the  view  to  any  triumph 
over  any  other  denomination  of  my  countrymen,  but  because  I 
look  upon  it  as  a  victory  obtained  by  the  combined  activity  of 
all  classes  of  Irishmen  over  their  own  prejudices,  and  over  into- 
lerance and  illiberality.  It  is  that  species  of  victory  that  ought 
to  endear  the  Irish  Protestant  to  the  Irish  Catholic,  because  it 
has  been  obtained  for  the  benefit  of  the  latter — principally  by 
the  exertions  of  the  former.  It  is  doubly  dear,  because  it  holds 
but  the  prospect  of  mutual  conciliation  and  mutual  affection. 


DANIEL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  8T 

I,  too.  my  lord,  am  reiulv  to  confide — I  am  ready  wl  Mi  you  to 
confide  in  the  great  and  growing  liberality  of  the  British  nation, 
in  the  pledge  of  the  honourable  house,  in  the  promised  vote  of 
the  lords,  in  the  facility  of  the  administration  to  abandon  all 
former  notions,  and  to  comply  with  the  temper  of  the  times. — 
But  let  me  conjure  the  meeting  to  place  its  first  and  principal 
reliance  in  the  determined  spirit  and  unalterable  resolution  to 
persevere  until  emancipation  shall  be  complete,  never  to  relax 
their  efforts  until  religious  freedom  is  established. 

I  may,  without  any  allusion  to  its  military  import,  which  T 
dislike,  remind  my  countrymen  of  the  advice  of  Cromwell  to  hig 
soldiers.  The  night  was  wet,  and  they  as  usual  were  engaged  in 
prayer.  "  Confide,"  said  he,  "in  the. Lord — put  all  your  trust 
and  confidence  in  the  Lord — but  be  quite  sure  tc  sleep  upon  your 
matchlocks"  (Laughter and  loud  cheering.) 

Such,  my  lord,  is  the  confidence  we  ought  to  entertain  at 
present.  In  truth,  every  circumstance  suggests  caution — and 
he  knows  little  of  human  nature  who  reposes  with  too  implicit 
a  belief  upon  the  ptoinises  of  any  administration — and  he  1ms 
read  history  to  little  purpose,  who  does  not  doubt  of  the  fair 
professions  of  newly-converted  enemies.  It  is  for  this  that  his- 
tory is  useful.  Its  lessons  may  be  neglected,  and  the  consequence 
will  be  just  what  we.  see  in  the  great  affairs  of  the  nation — dis- 
tress, embarrassment,  and  permanent  difficulty,  produced  by  the 
miserable  repetition  of  temporary  expedients.  The  history  of 
the  Irish  Catholics  warns  us  to  be  cautious  how  we  shall  pro- 
ceed. Within  the  last  twenty  years  there  were  no  less  than 
three  different  periods  at  which  the  Catholics  might  have  been 
emancipated,  if  a  combination  of  exertion  had  been  used. 

Twenty  years,  however,  have  passed  away,  and  we  are  still 
slaves.  My  days,  the  blossom  of  my  youth  and  the  flower  of 
my  manhood  have  been  darkened  by  the  dreariness  of  servitude. 
In  this  my  native  land — in  the  land  of  my  sires — -I  am  degraded 
without  fault  or  crime,  as  an  alien  and  an  outcast.  We  do  not, 
my  lord,  deserve  this  treatment.  We  are  stamped  by  the  Crea- 
tor with  no  inferiority  ;  and  man  is  guilty  of  injustice  when  he 
deprives  us  of  our  just  station  in  society.  I  despise  him  who 
can  timidly  and  meanly  acquiesce  in  the  injustice.  Oh,  let  us 
nt  length  seize  this  opportunity  of  abolishing  the  oppression 
for  ever. 

To  avoid  failure  at  present,  let  us  see  whether  we  can  discover 
ho'.v  the  Catholics  failed  before.  The  first  occasion  upon  which, 
within  these  last  twenty  years,  the  entire  Emancipation  might 


82  ELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

have  been  obtained,  was  in  the  year  1793.  In  that  year  great 
concessions  were  certainly  made — great  boons  were  extorted  fro^c 
nn  adverse  and  very  unwilling  government ;  but  the  principle 
of  servitude,  and  many  galling  and  insulting  restrictions 
remained.  And  why  were  they  suffered  to  remain  ?  Simply, 
because  the  Catholics  were  not  sufficiently  combined  amongst 
themselves,  and  sufficiently  determined. 

I  reproach  none  of  the  actors  in  the  Catholic  cause  at  that 
period  ;  many  names  dear  to  freedom  were  amongst  their  popu- 
lar leaders — treachery  there  was,  I  am  sure,  none — deceit  there 
was,  I  am  convinced,  none  ;  but  leaving,  as  they  did,  so  many 
weighty  chains  and  oppressive  restrictions,  there  certainly  was  a 
miserable  failure  of  the  one  great  object — the  simple  repeal  of 
the  acts  restrictive  of  religious  liberty.  The  Catholics,  then, 
were  supposed  not  to  seek  for  the  abolition  of  every  penal  law  ; 
they  were  supposed  to  be  ready  to  consent  to  something  short 
of  that  great  measure ;  they  were  then,  or  had  lately  been, 
much  divided  amongst  themselves,  and  the  result  was,  that  dis- 
traction in  their  counsels,  and  that  dexterity  in  their  enemies, 
which  have  ever  since  postponed  the  day  of  freedom. 

The  second  occasion  on  which  the  Catholics  might  have  been 
emancipated  was  the  Union — but  at  that  period,  also,  the  Catho- 
lics were  much  divided  amongst  themselves — the  reign  of  Robes- 
perian  terror  still  prevailed,  and  the  voice  of  the  Irish  people 
was  stifled.  We  thought  and  acted  differently  upon  this  melan- 
choly subject,  and,  amidst  the  bitter  anguish  which  the  memory 
of  my  extinguished  country  excites,  I  have  consolations  both 
personal  and  public.  First,  because  the  opposition  to  the  Union 
was,  (and  I  thank  my  God  for  it,)  the  first  act  of  my  political 
life ;  and,  secondly,  I  feel  some  comfort  that  the  Catholics  did 
not  barter  the  constitution  of  their  native  land  for  advantages 
to  themselves.  I  blame  no  person  for  the  failure  of  emancipa- 
tion on  that  occasion ;  on  the  contrary,  I  proudly  rejoice  that 
the  Catholics,  even  those  of  them  who  supported  that  balef.il 
and  degrading  measure,  despised  any  idea  of  trafficking  upon, 
or  profiting  by  the  miseries  of  Ireland. 

My  lord,  all  the  Catholics  are  free  from  the  guilt  of  having 
participated  in  the  sale  of  their  country;  and  this  benefit  result  s 
that  they  are  bound  by  no  contract  to  continue  their  thraldom. 
Nay,  the  existence  of  the  penal  code  is  soothed  by  t/ie  recollection, 
that  in  the  eforts  made  to  procure  redress,  a  popular  spirit  is 
roused,  which,  if  not  soon  laid  by  the  voice  of  emancipation,  may 
generate  a  determination  to  reanimate  the  fallen  constitution  I 


DANIEL  Of  CONN  ELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  $& 

The  third,  and  last  period,  at  which  the  Catholics  might  nave 
been  emancipated,  occurred  since  I  had  the  honour  to  bo  an 
humble  lanourer  in  the  Catholic  cause  ;  it  was  the  commence 
ment  of  Mr.  Fox's  administration.  The  year  preceding,  Mr. 
Fox  had  most  powerfully  supported  our  claims  in  the  House  of 
Commons ;  he  supported  them,  not  upon  any  narrow  view  of  sect 
or  party,  but  upon  the  great  principle  of  universal  toleration — on 
that  principle,  which,  in  our  country,  would  repeal  her  test  and 
corporations'  act,  and  secure  the  uncontrolled  freedom  of  religion? 
worship  and  belief,  in  every  climate,  and  to  every  cast  and  colour. 

I  believe,  my  lord,  you  were  present  at  the  liberal  and  manly 
declarations  made  by  Mr.  Fox,  at  a  meeting  of  our  delegates, 
some  days  previous  to  the  introduction  of  our  first,  petition  tc 
the  imperial  parliament. — [Lord  Fingal  said  he  was  not  present 
at  that  meeting.]  Well,  my  lord,  Mr.  Scully  certainly  was  : 
we  heard  him  say  so  no  later  than  yesterday ;  and  when  I  mention 
his  name,  I  know  I  can  use  no  authority  more  likely  to  obtain 
the  full  belief  and  confidence  of  the  Irish  people.  (Loud  cheery.) 
Mr.  Scully  was  present  as  a  delegate  at  those  declarations,  when 
Mr.  Fox  proclaimed  the  restrictive  code  as  a  crime — religious  li- 
berty as  a  right.  "  I  cannot,"  said  that  enlightened  man,  "  1 
cannot  consent  to  become  your  advocate  unlese  you  are  ready 
to  concede  to  all  other  sects,  the  toleration  you  require  for  your- 
selves." "  We  should  be  unworthy  to  obtain  it,  could  we  hesi- 
tate to  accede  to  your  terms  ;  we  would  gladly  bestow  on  all 
mankind  what  we  ask  for  ourselves,"  was  the  reply. 

Upon  this  avowed  principle,  in  1805,  Mr.  Fox  supported  the 
claims  of  tiie  Catholics:  in  1806,  that  very  Mr.  Fox  became, 
minister.  What  could  have  prevented  that  principle  from  being 
carried  into  action  1  The  Catholics  did  not  call  for  it ;  a  mis- 
taken confidence  occasioned  them  to  allow  the  only  decisive  mo- 
ment to  elapse  ;  they  did  not  press  their  claims.  If  I  am  asked 
the  question,  why  ?  alas !  I  cannot  tell.  I  was  myself,  one  of 
the  actors  of  the  national  drama,  and  yet  I  am  quite  ignorant 
why  it  was  that  we  did  not  then  insist  upon  the  recent  pledge 
being  redeemed.  I  can  only  account  for  it  by  drawing  upon  th< 
unsuspecting  credulity  of  the  Irish  heart.  The  administration 
declared  itself  friendly,  and  we  believed ;  they  made  professions, 
and  they  obtained  confidence  ;  the  noble  generosity  of  the  Irish 
disposition  could  not  bear  to  doubt  where  it  entertained  affeo 
tion ;  or,  perhaps,  the  very  novelty  of  the  voice  of* kindness  ii*d 
its  oharms.  The  Irish  had  been  so  long  used  to  obloquy  a^d 
harshness,  that  they  received  as  a  boon,  deserving  of  gratitude. 


fti  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

the  mere  language  of  conciliation.  The  result  was,  that  the  fa- 
vourable moment  of  compelling  that  administration  cither  to 
smancipate  or  to  resign,  was  passed  by,  and  our  servitude  cor> 
tinues'to  this  hour. 

Let  us  profit  by  those  lessons — from  the  errors  of  those  pe- 
riods ;  let  our  present  conduct  be  free  ;  our  course  is  plain  and 
?imple.  It  consists  not  in  relaxing,  but  in  redoubling  our  efforts* 
— in  pressing  forward  again  as  a  people  should  do  who  deserve 
liberty.  Let  us  enter  into  no  collateral  discussions,  no  dishon 
curable  stipulations.  Under  the  banner  of  "  The  Simple  Re- 
peal," Ireland  has  already  once  gloriously  triumphed.  It  is  a 
word  of  good  omen.  Perhaps  she  is  fated  again  to  progress  in 
the  cause  of  her  freedom,  under  the  same  standard.  "The  Sim- 
ple Repeal"  should  be  re-echoed  from  north  to  south,  from  eas* 
to  west  ;  and  should  we  again  fail,  we  shall,  at  least,  have  the 
consolation  to  know,  that  we  deserved  success,  and  that  the  fail- 
ure cannot  be  attributed  to  UB. 

But  shall  we  fail  ?  Think  you  are  we  to  owe  our  freedom  to 
Lord  Castlereagh  and  to  Lord  Sidmouth  ?  Let  us,  my  lord,  be- 
ware of  raising  too  high  the  expectations  of  the  country.  In 
•such  a  people  as  the  Irish,  the  effects  of  disappointment  may  be 
terrific.  They  are  too  apt  to  believe  that  which  they  wish. 
They  are  too  prone  to  rely ;  and  when  the  hour  of  political 
treachery  has  come ;  when  the  promised  "graces"  are  withdrawn 
from  light,  the  sudden  violence  of  disappointed  expectation  is 
not  likely  to  be  controlled  by  the  influence  of  reason.  .Already 
we  have  seen  the  effects  of  blasting  the  hopes  of  the  Irish  people. 
In  the  year  1794,  Lord  Fitzwilliam  arrived  in  Ireland,  with  con- 
ciliation and  Emancipation  in  his  train  ;  he  proclaimed  our  free- 
dom as  at  hand ;  the  Irish  parliament  sung  responsive  ;  there 
was  not  a  dissentient  voice ;  unanimity  prevailed  in  both  houses ; 
the  Catholic  Bill  was  actually  brought  in  under  the  most  favour- 
able auspices  ;  if  it  had  passed,  the  Union  was  hopeless.  Mr. 
Pitt,  who  prepared  for  that  measure  from  a  distance,  saw  the  ne- 
cessary consequence  of  abolishing  religious  dissensions  in  Ireland ; 
the  promised  liberality  was  withdrawn  ;  Lord  Fitzwilliam  was 
recalled  ;  and,  in  the  space  of  one  short  month,  that  very  parlia- 
ment which  bid  the  Catholics  arise  to  freedom,  and  the  country 
to  concord,  declared,  that  dissensions  should  be  perpetual,  and 
slavery  eternal. 

History  relates  the  sequel.  In  a  short  time  the  land  was  de- 
luged by  native  blood,  and  rebellion  reared  its  horrid  crest.  My 
•I.o»**  Castlereagh  interposed. , and  terminated  the  j^ene. 


IMXIEL  O'OOXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  gg 

in;.,'  to  the  plot  of  the  original  projectors,  by  the  Union.  That 
same  Castlereagh  again  governs.  Is  it  safe,  my  lord,  is  it  pru- 
tlent,  to  exaggerate  the  people's  hopes,  to  give  them  anything 
like  a  certainty,  which  may  meet  nothing  but  disappointment  ? 
Let  us  spare  our  country  from  the  horrid  consequences  of  out- 
raged feelings.  This  is  the  last  resort  of  public  liberty  in  Europe 
— the  only  country  where  the  sword  alone,  the  tyrant's  law,  does 
not  prevail.  I,  my  lord,  for  one,  am  determined  not  to  survive 
the  representative  system  of  government  in  this  country.  Surely 
we  ought  not  to  endanger  it,  by  rousing  those  angry  passions  which 
must  result  from  betrayed  confidence.  We  should  warn  the  peo- 
ple not  to  believe  over  much  those  who  are  hackneyed  in  dupli- 
city and  treachery. 

The  opposition  to  Catholic  Emancipation  has  assumed  a  new 
shape ;  bigotry  and  intolerance  have  been  put  to  the  blush,  or 
covered  with  ridicule ;  every  body  laughs  at  Jack  Giffkrd  and 
Paddy  Duignan;  and  their  worthy  compeer  and  colleague  in 
England,  Sir  William  Scott,  does  no  longer  venture  to  meet, 
with  adverse  front,  the  justice  of  our  cause.  He  may,  induc-ti. 
talk  of  setting  our  question  at  rest — he  may  declaim  upon  the 
moral  inferiority  of  the  Irish  Catholics;  but  let  him  rest  assure- i, 
that  so  long  as  his  children — if  he  have  any — so  long  as  the 
swarthy  race  of  his  Scotts  are  placed,  by  law,  on  any  superiority 
to  the  Irish  Catholics,  so  long  will  it  be  impossible  to  put  the 
question  to  rest.  It  never  can — it  never  shall  rest,  save  in  un- 
qualified, unconditional  Emancipation.  As  to  the  moral  inferi- 
ority, I  shall  not  dispute  the  point  with  him,  but  I  trust  no 
Catholic  judge  will  ever  bo  found  in  this  country  with  such  an 
accommodating  disposition  as  to  decide  the  precise  same  question 
in  two  different  ways,  as  we  are  told  that  learn  d.  gentkjian  has 
dene,  with  the  question  of  "  paper  blockades."  Let  nim,  1  am 
sure  I  consent,  direct  his  sapient  opposition,  in  hi&  present  pru- 
dent course  of  retarding  the  discussion  of  the  right  and  justice 
of  our  claims,  by  introducing  othei  topics.  The  points  of'  delay 
— the  resting  places  are  obvious ;  And  when  the  present  are  ex- 
hausted, I  rely  on  the  malignity  of  our  oppressors  to  invent  ne* 
terms  for  this  purpose. 

First,  there  was  the  Veto— thut,  indeed,  was  Boon  put  down 
by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  Catholic  people,  who.  besides 
other  reasons,  really  could  not  see,  in  the  actual  selection  madu 
by  the  Irish  government  of  persons  to  fill  the  offices  belonging 
of  right  to  them,  anything  to  tempt  ti  m  to  confer  on  tka 
government  the  noniinatijn  of  upwards  .  thirty  other  oilicos  »'f 


86  SELECT  SPEECHES  0* 

emolument  and  honour.  If  hostility  to  the  Irish  people  be  a 
recognized  recommendation  to  ail  other  employments,  is  it  likely 
that,  in  one  alone,  virtue  and  moral  fitness  should  obtain  the  ap- 
pointment ?  It  was  too  gross  and  glaring  a  presumption  in  an 
administration,  avowing  its  abhorrence  for  every  thing  Irish,  to 
expect  to  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  religious  discipline  of 
the  Irish  Catholic  Church. 

Driven  from  any  chance  of  the  Veto,  our  enemies  next  sug- 
gested "  the  arrangement,"  as  it  was  called  ;  but  this  half  ru^ 
sure  had  but  few  supporters.  It  was  not  sufficiently  strong  for 
the  zealcus  intolerants ;  its  advantages  were  not  so  obvious  to 
the  profligate  ;  it  was  met  by  this  plain  reply — that  we  knew  of 
no  real  inconvenience  that  could  possibly  arise  from  the  present 
system  of  the  government  of  our  church  ;  but  if  any  existed,  it 
were  fitter  to  be  treated  of  by  the  venerable  prelates  of  that 
church,  who  understand  the  subject  best,  than  by  ministers  who 
wished  to  turn  every  thing  into  an  engine  of  state  policy. 

"  The  arrangement"  was  then  soon  forgotten,  and  now,  my  lord, 
we  have  new  terms  stated — those  are  "  sanctions  and  securities." 
.We  are  now  told  we  cannot  be  emancipated  without  "sanctions 
and  securities."  What,  are  "  sanctions  t"  They  are  calculated, 
1  presume,  to  do  a  great  deal  of  mischief,  because  they  are  quite 
unintelligible.  A.S  to  "  securities,"  indeed  I  can  understand 
that  word ;  and  I  am  quite  ready  to  admit  that  securities  are 
necessary;  they  are  necessary  against  the  effects  upon  a  passive, 
but  high-minded  people — of  continued  insult  and  prolonged  op- 
pression. They  are  necessary,  in  a  sinking  state,  tigahist  the 
domestic  disturbances  and  organized  disaffection  which  prevail 
in  England — against  the  enormous  and  increasing  power  of  the 
enemy — against  dilapidated  resources,  expiring  commerce,  depre- 
ciated currency,  and  accumulating  expenditure — against  the  folly, 
the  incapacity,  the  want  of  character  of  the  administration — 
against  all  those  evils  of  which  there  is  courage  to  speak — against 
that  domestic  insult,  respecting  which  it  is  prudent  to  be  silent 
— against  all  these,  "  securities"  are  necessary,  and  they  are  easy 
to  be  found — they  are  to  be  found  in  conciliation  and  emancipa- 
tion— their  rectitude  and  justice.  The  brave,  the  generous,  tht 
enthusiastic  people  of  Ireland  are  ready  to  place  themselves  ir 
the  breach  that  has  been  made  in  their  country ;  they  claim  the 
post  of  honour,  that  is,  the  post  of  utmost  danger  ;  they  are  ready 
to  secure  the  throne  and  the  constitution,  and  all  they  require 
iii  return  is,  to  be  recognized  a«  men  and  human  beings  in 
ilieir  native  land. 


DANIEL  O  CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  87 

Do  not,  then,  I  would  say  to  any  minister— do  not  presume 
lo  insult  them,  by  attempting  to  treat  them  as  maniacs,  to  be 
secured  only  by  ropes  and  chains.  Alas  !  their  only  insanity  is 
taeir  devotion  to  you.  Tell  them  not  that  the  more  they  are 
free  the  less  will  they  be  grateful ;  tell  them  not  that  the  less 
you  have  to  fear  from  their  discontent,  the  more  strictly  will 
you  bind  them.  Oppress  them  if  you  please,  but  hesitate  before 
you  deem  it  prudent  thus  to  insult  their  first,  their  finest  feelings. 

Having  disposed  of  "  Veto,  arrangement,  sanctions,  and  secu- 
rities," there  remains  but  one  resource  for  intolerance ;  the 
classic  Castlereagh  has  struck  it  out ;  it  consists  in — what  do 
you  think?  Why,  in  "hitches."  Yes,  "hitches"  is  the  ele- 
gant word  which  is  now  destined  to  protract  our  degradation. 
It  is  in  vain  tLat  our  advocates  have  increased  ;  in  vain  have 
our  foes  been  converted  ;  in  vain  has  William  Wellesley  Pole 
become  our  warm  admirer.  Oh,  how  beautiful  he  must  have 
looked  advocating  the  Catholic  cause  !  and  his  conversion,  100, 
has  been  so  satisfactory — he  has  accounted  for  it  upon  such 
philosophic  principles.  Yes,  he  has  gravely  informed  us  that 
he  was  all  his  life  a  man  detesting  committees  j  you  might  bet 
hv  him  that  the  name  of  a  committee  discomposed  his  uervuH 
di»U  excited  his  most  irritable  ieelings ;  at  the  souu.i  of  a  com- 
mittee he  was  roused  to  madness.  'Now,  the  Catholics  taJ 
insisted  uuon  au.ing  by  a  committee,  tko  naughty  Papists  h;u! 
•isea  nothing  but  profane  committees,  and,  of  course,  he  pro- 
claimed his  hostility.  But  in  proportion  as  he  disliked  com- 
mittees, so  did  he  love  and  approve  of  aggregate  meetings-- 
respectable  aggregate  meetings  !  Had  there  been  a  chamber  at 
the  Castle  large  enough  for  an  aggregate  meeting  he  would  have 
£>iven  it.  Who  does  not  see  that  it  is  quite  right  to  doat  upon 
aggregate  meetings  and  detest  committees,  by  law,  logic,  philo- 
sophy, and  science  of  legislation  ?  All  recommend  the  one  and 
••ondemn  the  other ;  and,  at  length,  the  Catholics  have  had  the 
good  sense  to  call  their  committee  a  board,  to  make  their  aggre- 
gate meetings  more  frequent.  They,  therefore,  deserve  Eman- 
cipation ;  and,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  he  (Mr.  Polo)  would 
confer  it  on  them  !  (laughter  and  cheers.) 

But,  seriously,  let  us  recollect  that  Wellesley  Pole  is  the  bro- 
ther of  one  of  our  most  excellent  friends — of  Marquis  Wellesley, 
who  had  so  gloriously  exerted  himself  in  our  cause — who  haa 
o»  an  fully  abandoned  one  administration  because  he  could  not 
/>rocur«?  our  liberty,  and  rejected  power  under  any  other,  unless 
on  the  basis  of  Emancipation  ;  and  who  had,  before 


SELECT  8PEECHK8  OF 

this  Lour  m  which  I  speak,  earned  another  unfading  laurel,  and 
the  eternal  affection  of  the  Irish  people,  by  his  motion  in  the 
House  of  Lords.  The  eloquence  and  zeal  and  high  character  of 
that  noble  marquis  seemed  all  that  was  wanting  to  ensure,  at  no 
remote  period,  our  success.  He  knows  little  of  the  Irish  heart 
who  imagines  that  his  disinterested  services  will  ever  be  forgot- 
ten ;  no,  they  fire  graved  on  the  soul  of  Irish  gratitude,  and  will 
ever  live  in  the  memory  of  the  finest  people  on  the  earth.  Lord 
Castlereagh,  too,  has  declared  in  our  favour,  with  the  prudent 
reserve  of  "  the  hitches ;"  he  is  our  friend,  and  has  been  so  these 
*ast  twenty  years — our  secret  friend — as  he  says  so,  upon  his 
honour  as  a  gentleman,  we  are  bound  to  believe  hrm.  If  it  be  a 
merit  in  the  minister  of  a  great  nation  to  possess  profound  dis- 
cretion, this  merit  Lord  Castlereagh  possesses  in  a  supereminenf 
degree.  Why,  he  has  preserved  this  secret  with  the  utmost  suc- 
cess. Who  ever  suspected  that  he  had  such  a  secret  in  hi? 
keeping  1  The  whole  tenor  of  his  life,  every  action  of  his  nega- 
tived the  idea  of  his  being  our  friend  ;  he  spoke  against  us — he 
voted  against  us — he  wrote  and'  he  published  against  us  ;  and  it 
turns  out  now  that  he  did  all  this  merely  to  show  how  well  he 
could  keep  a  secret.  Oh,  admirable  contriver !  oh,  most  success- 
nil  placeman  !  most  discreet  and  confidential  of  ministers  ! 

But  what  are  his  "  hitches  f  They  constitute  another 
"  secret."  I  think,  however,  I  understand  them.  In  the  morii- 
ing  papers  of  this  day,  there  appeared  a  call  upon  the  Protest- 
ants of  the  county  of  Sligo  to  come  forward  in  support  of  the 
Establishment.  It  looks  like  the  tocsin  of  intolerance ;  the 
name  signed  to  it  is  John  Irwin.  Who  this  person  is  I  know 
not,  and  I  have  not  had  time  to  inquire.  If  he  be  an  Irish 
Protestant  gentleman  of  independence,  1  respect,  whilst  I  pity 
his  errors  and  his  prejudices  ;  I  would  apply  no  other  remedy 
to  him  but  the  voice  of  mild  reasoning  and  argument,  shaped 
by  the  spirit  of  conciliation.  If  he  be  an  hireling  of  the  adin 
nistration,  and  that  this  is  the  first  demonstration  of  the 
"  hitches,"  I  proclaim  his  miserable  attempt  to  the  contempt  ol 
the  enlightened  Protestants  of  Ireland — its  fate  is  certain ;  the 
government  may  give  it  a  wretched  importance,  but  they  never 
caa  afford  it  strength  :  they  may  give  it  "  sanction,"  but  they 
cannot  procure  "  security"  for  bigotry.  The  Protestants,  Pres- 
byterians, and  the  Quakers  of  Ireland,  have  too  recently  evinced 
the  noble  liberality'  of  their  sentiments — their  sense  of  or.r 
wrongs,  and  their  sympathy  in  the  sufferings  of  their  brethren, 
who  are,  in  tLeir  turn,  ready  to  die  in  their  defence.  The 


DANIEL  O'COtftfELL,  ESQ.,  M.P 


Protestants  of  every  denomination  are  too  just  and  ten  wise  to 
be  duped  into  the  yell  of  bigotry.     The  result  of  the  attempt  is 
certain.     Even  in  1792,  when  intolerance  stood  in  formidable 
array,  a  similar  effort  to  stem  our  cause  only  covered  the  projec- 
tors and  actors  with  immortal  ridicule.     Mr.   Byrne  and  Mr 
Keogh  proceeded  then  as  we  shall  now  proceed  ;  and  we  have 
the  advantage  of  being  cheered  by  the  great  majority  of  those 
very  Protestants  whom  the  intolerants  seek  to  dispose  against  us 
I  said  I  understood  Castlereagh's  "  hitches,"  and  I  proclaim 
this  as  one  of  them  ;  I  know,  too,  we  shall  have  new  persecu- 
tions.    Our  legal  persecutors,  who  hunt  us  with  a  keenness  only 
increased  by  their  disappointment,  and  rendered  more  rancorous 
by  our  prospect  of  success—  good  and  godly  men—  are  at  this 
moment   employed   in  projecting  fresh  scenes  of  persecution. 
Every  part  of  the  press  that  has  dared  to  be  free  will  surely  be 
punished,  and  public  spirit  and  liberality  will,  in  every  case  that 
can  be  reached  by  the  arts  of  state  persecution,  expiate  its  offence 
in  a  prison.     Believe  me,  my  prophetic  fears  are  not  vain  :  I 
know  the  managers  well,  and  place  no  confidence  in  their  holy 
seeming.     Again,  England  affords  another  opportunity  of  extend 
ing  the  "hitches,"  under  the  pretence  of  making  laws  to  prevent 
rebellion  there  ;  the  administration  will  suspend  the  habeas  cor- 
pus, for  the  purpose  of  crushing  emancipation  here  ;  and  thua 
will  illustrate  the  contrast  between  the  very  words  which  would 
require  twelve  simpletons  to  swear  meant  the  same  thing.     The 
new  laws  occasioned  by  English  rioters  will  pass  harmless  over 
their  heads,  and  fall  only  upon  you.     It  would  be  inconsistent 
if  Castlereagh,  the  worthy  successor  of  Clare  and  John  Foster, 
used   any  other   plan   towards    Ireland.     The   "hitches,"   the 
"  hitches,"  plainly  mean  all  that  can  be  raised  of  venal  outcry 
against  us,  and  all  that  can  be  enacted  of  arbitrary  law,  to  pre- 
vent our  discussions. 

Still,  still  we  have  resources  —  we  have  rich  resources  in  those 
affectionate  sentiments  of  toleration  which  our  Irish  Protestant 
brethren  have  proudly  exhibited  during  the  present  year.  The 
Irish  Protestants  will  not  abandon  or  neglect  their  own  work  ;  it 
is  they  who  have  placed  us  on  our  present  elevation  —  their  sup- 
port has  rendered  the  common  cause  of  our  common  country  trium- 
phant. Ouroppressors,  yieldingan  unwilling  assent  to  the  request  of 
the  Protestants  of  Ireland,  may  compensate  themselves  by  abus- 
ing us  in  common  ;  they  may  style  us  agitators—  Mr.  Cannin* 
wills  us  agitators  with  ulterior  views—  but  those  Protestant  ag^ 
'ators  are  the  heat  friends  to  tlifl  security  and  peace  of  th«  ro 


SELECT  SPEECHES  Ot 


try  •  and  to  us,  Popish  agitators— for  I  own  it,  my  lord,  I  am 
W  Utator,  and  wt  solemnly  promise  to   continue   so,   until 
the   period  of   unqualified   emancipation— until    "the    simple 
repeal"     As  to  us,  agitators  amongst   the   Catholics    we  are 
become  too  much  accustomed  to  calumny  to  be  terrified  at  H 
but  how  have  we  deserved  reproach  and  obloquy       How  have 
we  merited  calumny  1     Of  myself,  my  lord,  1  shall  Ray  nothing 
-I  possess  no  talents  for  the  office  ;  but  no  man  shall  prevent 
the  assertion  of  my  rigid  honesty.     I  am,  it  is  true,  the  lowliest 
of  the  amtators  ;  but  there  are,  amongst  them,  men  of  the  first- 
v^S,  and  of  arnpb  fortunes-men  of  the  most  ancient 
families    and  of  hereditary  worth— men  of  public  jpint  and  of 
±ale  Virtue  ;  and,  abov'e  all,  men  of  persevering,  nndaun^, 
and  unextinguishable  love   of  their  country— ci   their   poor 
degraded,  insulted  countr^-to  that  country  wall  I  say  of  all 
•S  agitators,  with  the  exception  of  my  humble  sell 

"  Boast,  Erin,  boast  them  tameless,  frank,  and  free." 

Out  of  the  hands  of  those  agitators,  however,  the  govcru- 
m,5nt  is  desirable  to  take  the  people,  and  the  government  >« 
ri^ht      Out  of  the  sphere  of  your  influence,  iny  lord,  the  people 
can  never  be  taken,  for  reasons  which,  because  Jou  are  present 
J  shall  not  mention,  but  which  are  recognised  by  the  hearts  of 
the  Irish  nation.     (Loud  cheering.)     But  out  of  our  hands  the 
people  may  easily  be  taken.     They  are  bound  to  us  only  by  the 
ties  of  mutual  sufferings  and  mutual  sympathies.     We  are  the 
mere  straws  which  are  borne  upon  the  torrent  of  public  wrong* 
*nd  public  griefs.     Restore  their  rights  to  the  people-concili- 
ate the  Irish  nation,  which  is  ready  to  meet  you  more  than  half 
wav  and  the  power  of  the  agitators  is  gone  m  an  instant, 
certainlv  feel  the  alarm  expressed  at  the  agitation  of  the  question 
of  Catholic  rights  as  a  high  compliment ;  it  clearly  points  out 
the  course  weight  to  pursue.     Let  us  rouse  the    nsh  people, 
from  one  extreme  to  the  other  of  the  island    m  this  constit 
'ional  cause.     Let  the.  Catholic  combine  with  the  Protestant, 
and  the  Protestant  with  the  Catholic,  and  one  generous  exertion 
"to  every  angry  feeling  at  rest,  and  banishes,  for  ever,  dissension 
Idiv'Bion      The  temptation  to  invasion  will  be  taken  away 
from  the  foreign  enemy-the  pretext  and  the  means  of  interim 
commotion  will  be  snatched  from  the  domestic  foe— our  country, 
cTbLd  in  one  great  phalanx,  will  defy  every  assau It  and  we 
.hall  have  the  happiness  of  obtaining  real  security,  by  that  course 
ot  cor-ciluiion,  w»U  curves  the  aDprohatiou  of  every  sound 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  j)J 

judgment,  and  must  ensure  the  applause  of  every  feeling  heart— 
o^         ?          aU  haQOur  °n  ourselves,  and  ensure  the  safety  of 


our  country. 


THE  "NO-POPERY"  CRY. 

^anfa  1^°^"  **""*  ab°Ut  thIS  time  arOU*ed  the  Cat^* 
and  a  resolution  was  passed  to  the  following  effect  :- 


to  be  deprecated  and  resisted  Proposition,  or  some  other  equally 


Pies,  from  the  passin    of  the  * 


vrlth  the  proceedings  of  the  Catho™  Z-^  Cin  ^nnd^T h  ""  ^^  C°DCU1Tence 
cause,  in  the  next  session  of  parliament  -cratitud/^  I  T*  6  SUCCCSS  of  the 
aversion  to  the  idea  of  what  we?e  called  «sec^e"»  Ln*  ^  •  "  that  ^"^ 

?^i^si?: «-  -  =^^T±±sfe 

^M^MS^^ 

our  long--cherished  hopes  that  th«f  ?ll    f  .laratlous  lu  Parliament  revive 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OT 


«  That  at  a  time  when  continental  Europe  ia  Yielding  her  last  sigh, 
snd  all  the  rivulets  of  rational  liberty  are  nearly  lost  m  the  flood  of  tin* 
*e~sal  domination  ;  and  when  these  countries,  the  last  refege  of  European 
freedom,  are  threatened  with  no  less  than  total  anmhiktion,  we  co* 
Ser  the  continnance  of  political  disabilities  as  tending  to  paralyze  the 

enries  of  the  state,  and  to  further  the  views  of  our  implacable  enemy. 
"^  WftSB£  consider,  that  it  would  be  a  criminal  apathy  in  us, 
at  this  perilous  crisis,  to  cease  our  earnest  application  to  the  legislature, 
Jo  embr^e,  within  the  >rotection  of  equal  laws,  all  and  every  description 
of  his  Majesty's  subjects. 

«  That  having,  with  regret,  observed  a  design  to  mar  the  progress 
of  our  just  claims,  by  proportions  intended  solely  to  raise  alarms  against 
us,  we  feel  called  upon  to  declare  to  the  empire  and  to  the  worl  - 

«  That  we  will  enter  into  no  compromise  for  our  rights,  incompat 
with  the  integrity  of  our  religion. 

«  That  the  best  security  we  can  give,  is  our  attachment  to  the  con- 
•titution,  which  we  are  solemnly  and  irrevocably  sworn  to  defend-on 
proved  invariable  fidelity  to  the  laws,  gnaranteed  by  our  properties,  our 
Hves,  and  the  very  principles  of  the  religion  we  profess. 

These,  with  other  resolution*  were  seconded  *jr  *r  A.  F.  O'Neill,  and  l*ssed  unani- 


m°C±sellor  O'Connefl  then  rose,  (add.  the  Li*™*  £~»*g  **  ^ose  report  we 

SSbsjs^^ 

^SSSSSSSS^  WM  cheered,  alzno-t  at  the  d~  of  erery  sentence,  with  loud  and 
mpturous  applause  :— 

T  feel  it  my  duty,  as  a  professed  agitator  to  address  the  meet- 
mr  It  is  merelv  in  the  exercise  of  my  office  of  agitation,  that 
I  think  it  neceskry  to  say  a  few  words.  For  any  purpose  of 
illustration  or  argument,  further  discourse  is  useless  :  he 
topics  which  the  Resent  period  suggested,  haTe  been  treated  of 
with  sound  judgment,  and  a  rare  "^^^^  b7  ^  ^ 
8pected  and  talented  Mend  (Mr.  Roche);  all  1  shall  do  is,  to  add 
a  few  observations  to  what  has  fallen  from  that  gentleman  ;  and 
whilst  I  sincerely  admire  the  happy  style  in  which  he  ^treated 
*ose  subjects,  I  feel  deep  regret  at  being  unable  to  imitate  his 
excellent  discourse.  rv+i^ 

And,  first,  let  me  concur  with  him  m  congratulating  the  Catho- 
lics of  Limerick  on  the  progress  our  great  sause  has  made  smca 
we  were  last  assembled.  Since  that  period  our  cause  has  not 
rested  for  support  on  the  efforts  of  those  alone  who  were  imme- 
diately interested;  no,  our  Protestant  brethren  throughout  tho 
land  have  added  their  zealous  exertions  for  our  emancipation. 
Thev  have,  with  admirable  patriotism,  evinced  their  desire  to 
conciliate  by  serving  us,  and  1  am  sure  I  do  but  justice  to  the 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  93 

Catholics,  when  I  proclaim  our  gratitude,  as  written  on  our 
hearts,  and  to  be  extinguished  only  with  our  lives.    (Hear,  hear.) 

Nor  has  the  support  and  the  zeal  of  our  Protestant  brethren 
been  vain  and  barren.  No,  it  has  been  productive  of  great  and 
solid  advantages ;  it  has  procured,  for  the  cause  of  religious 
liberty,  the  respect  even  of  the  most  bigoted  of  our  opponents ; 
it  has  struck  down  English  prejudice  ;  it  has  convinced  the  mis 
taken  honest ;  it  has  terrified  the  hypocritical  knaves ;  and 
finally,  it  has  pronounced  for  us,  by  a  great  and  triumphant 
majority,  from  one  of  the  branches  of  the  legislature,  the  distinct 
recognition  of  the  propriety  and  the  necessity  of  conceding  jus- 
tice to  the  great  body  of  the  Irish  people.  (Hear,  hear,  hear.) 

Let  us,  therefore,  rejoice  in  our  mutual  success;  let  us  rejoice 
in  the  near  approach  of  freedom ;  let  us  rejoice  in  the  prospect 
of  soon  shaking  off  our  chains,  and  of  the  speedy  extinction  ot 
our  grievances.  But  above  all,  let  us  rejoice  at  the  means  by 
which  these  happy  effects  have  been  produced ;  let  us  doubly 
rejoice,  because  they  afford  no  triumph  to  any  part  of  the  Irish 
nation  over  the  other — that  they  are  not  the  result  of  any  con- 
tention amongst  ourselves ;  but  constitute  a  victory,  obtained 
for  the  Catholics  by  the  Protestants — that  they  prove  the  libe- 
rality of  the  one,  and  require  the  eternal  gratitude  of  the  other 
— that  they  prove  and  promise- the  eternal  dissolution  of  ancient 
animosities  and  domestic  feuds,  and  afford  to  every  Christian  and 
to  every  patriot,  the  cheering  certainty  of  seeing  peace,  harmony, 
and  benevolence  prevail  in  that  country,  where  a  wicked  and 
perverted  policy  has  so  long  and  so  fatally  propagated  and  en- 
couraged dissension,  discord,  and  rancour.  (Loud  cheering.) 

We  owe  it  to  the  liberality  of  the  Irish  Protestants — to  the  zeal 
of  the  Irish  Presbyterians— to  the  friendly  exertion  of  the  Irish 
Quakers  ;  we  owe,  to  the  cordial  re~union;  of  every  sect  and  de- 
nomination of  Irish  Christians,  the  progress  of  our  cause.  They 
have  procured  for  us  the  solemn  and  distinct  promise  and  pledge 
of  the  House  of  Commons — they  almost  obtained  for  us  a  similar 
declaration  from  the  House  of  Lords.  It  was  lost  by  the  petty 
majority  of  one — it  was  lost  by  a  majority,  not  of  those  wiiu 
listened  to  the  absurd  prosings  of  Lord  Eldon,  to  the  bigoted  and 
turbid  declamation  of  that  English  Chief  Justice,  whose  senti- 
ments so  forcibly  recal  the  memory  of  the  star-chamber ;  not 
jf  those  who  were  able  to  compare  the  vapid  or  violent  folly  of 
the  one  party,  with  the  statesman-like  sentiments,  the  profound 
arguments,  the  splendid  eloquence  of  the  Marquis  Wellesley. 
(Hear,  hear.)  Not  of  those  who -heard  the  reasonings  of  our 


94  SELECT  SPEECHES  OK 

ether  illustrious  advocates ;  but  by  a  majority  of  men  who  acted, 
upon  preconceived  opinions,  or,  from  a  distance,  carried  into 
effect  their  bigotry,  or,  perhaps,  worse  propensities — who  availed 
themselves  of  that  absurd  privilege  of  the  peerage,  which  enables 
those  to  decide  who  have  not  heard — which  permits  men  to 
pronounce  upon  subjects  they  have  not  discussed — and  allows  a 
final  determination  to  precede  argument.  (Hear.) 

It  was  not,  however,  to  this  privilege  alone,  that  our  want  oi 
-success  was  to  be  attributed.  The  very  principle  upon  which 
the  present  administration  has  been  formed,  was  brought  into 
immediate  action,  and  with  success ;  for,  in  the  latter  periods  of 
the  present  reign,  every  administration  has  had  a  distinct  prin- 
ciple upon  which  it  was  formed,  and  which  serves  the  historian 
*o  explain  all  its  movements.  Thus,  the  principle  of  the  Pitt 
administration  was — to  deprive  the  people  of  all  share  in  the 
government,  and  to  vest  all  power  and  authority  in  the  crown. 
In  short,  Pitt's  views  amounted  to  unqualified  despotism.  This 
great  object  he  steadily  pursued  through  his  ill-stared  career.  It 
js  true  he  encouraged  commerce,  but  it  was  for  the  purposes  of 
laxation  ;  and  he  used  taxation  for  the  purposes  of  corruption  ; 
Ae  assisted  the  merchants,  as  long  as  he  could,  to  grow  rich,  and 
they  lauded  him  ;  he  bought  the  people  with  their  own  money, 
2nd  they  praised  him.  Each  succeeding  day  produced  some 
lew  inroad  on  the  constitution ;  and  the  alarm  which  he  excited, 
*y  reason  of  the  bloody  workings  of  the  French  revolution,  en- 
abled him  to  rule  the  land  with  uncontrolled  sway ;  he  had  be- 
queathed to  his  successor  the  accumulated  power  of  the  crown — 
power  which  must  be  great,  if  it  can  sustain  the  nonentities  of 
1he  present  administration.  (Loud  and  continued  cheering.) 

The  principle  of  Pitt's  administration  was  despotism — the 
principle  of  Perceval's  administration  was  peculating  bigotry-^ 
oigoted  peculation  !  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  he  plundered  the 
people.  (A  laugh.)  Pious  and  enlightened  statesman  !  he 
would  take  their  money  only  for  the  good  of  their  souls.  (Bursts 
of  laughter.) 

The  principle  of  the  present  administration  is  still  more  ob- 
vious. It  has  unequivocally  disclosed  itself  in  all  its  movements 
— it  is  simple  and  single — it  consists  in  falsehood.  Falsehood  is 
the  bond  and  link  that  connects  this  ministry  in  office.  Some 
of  them  pretend  to  be  our  friends — you  know  it  is  not  true — > 
.hey  are  only  our  worse  enemies  for  the  hypocrisy.  They  declare 
ihat  the  Catholic  question  is  no  longer  opposed  by  the  cabinet 
-that  it  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  each  individual  retainer, 


DANIEL  O'CONNEU,.  ESQ.,  M.p.  3. 

The  fact  is  otherwise— and  their  retainers,  though  not  com 
manded,  as  formerly,  are  carefully  advised  to  vote  against  us 

The  minister,  Lord  Castlereagh,  is  reported  to  have  said  iu 
the  H,,use  of  Commons,  that  in  the  rear  1707  and  1798  there 
WM  no  torturs  in  Ireland  to  the  knowledge  of  government !  Is 
it  really  possible  that  such  an  assertion  was  used  ?  You  hear 
t  w,th  astonishment.  All  Ireland  must  shudder,  that  any 
man  could  be  found  thus  to  assert.  Good  God  !  of  what  m*te 
mis  must  that  man  be  made  who  could  say  so?  I  restrain  my  in" 
d.gimt.on-I  withhold  all  expressions  of  surprise-the  simpte 
statement  that  such  an  assertion  was  used,  exceeds,  in  reply  the 
strongest  language  of  reprobation.  But  there  is  no  man  so  stu" 
pid  as  not  to  recognise  the  principle  which  I  have  so  justly  at 
tnbuted  to  this  administration.  * 

What!  No  torture!  Great  God!   No  torture!     Within  the 
walls  of  your  city  was  there  no  torture!     Could  not  Colon, 
Vereker  have  informed  Lord  Castlereagh,  that  the  iash  resound"  j 
m  the  streets  even  of  Limerick,  and  that  the  human  groan  as- 
*uled  the  weaned  ear  of  humamty  ?     Yet,  I  am  ready  to  ghe 
the  gallant  colonel  every  credit  he  deserves ;  and,  therefore   I 
reca  to  your  grateful  recollection  the  day  when  he  risked  Hi 
0,1    FT*0"6  °f  the  in8t™*its  of  torture.  (Hear,  hear 
steels  of  y^rdt^theler^anfofh4  **  "*  tnie'  that  in  th« 
I10*,  t^."Ied-:whethe,r  he  Ta.s  "<*  tortured  Ist'for'The 


ure       rs,      r  te 

T       *  KaVmg  exPressed  a  s'ngle  sentiment  of  compassion 
"  aUSe  C°10nel  Verek^  interfered  ^  him.  ' 


hear) 

wh  Wh*  ^T  !S  ^  a,ddit,ional  fert-  w«ch  is  not  so  generally  known, 

f  have'  C^^^ll^*^  himself  does  not  k^ow,  and  which 

learned  from  a  h,ghly  respectable  clergyman,  that  this  sad 

«ct,m  of  the  system  of  torture,  which  Lord  Castlereagh  denied, 

tw'  t\    «      me      JaS  6Cour8ed'  in  an  infirm  state  of  health- 

hat  the  floggmg  inflated  on  him  deprived  him  of  all  understand, 

mg,  and  that  within  a  few  months  he  died  insane,  and  without 

having  recovered  a  shadow  of  reason      (Hear  ) 


96  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

constables,  and  the  Orange  lodges ;  that  the  shrieks  of  the  tor- 
tured must  have  literally  resounded  in  the  state  apartments  of 
the  Castle ;  and  that  along  by  the  gate  of  the  Castle  yard,  a  hu- 
man being,  naked,  tarred,  feathered,  with  one  ear  cut  off,  and  the 
blood  streaming  from  his  lacerated  back,  has  been  hunted  by  a 
troop  of  barbarians ! 

Why  do  I  disgust  you  with  these  horrible  recollections'?  You 
want  not  the  proof  of  the  principle  of  delusion  o-n  which  the  pre- 
sent administration  exists.  In  your  own  affairs  yen  have  abun- 
dant evidence  of  it.  The  fact  is,  that  the  proxies  in  the  Lords 
would  never  have  produced  a  majority  even  of  one  against  Lord 
Wellesley's  motion,  but  for  the  exertion  of  the  vital  principle  of 
the  administration.  •  The  ministry  got  the  majority  of  one.  The 
pious  Lord  Eldon,  with  all  his  conscience  and  his  calculations, 
and  that  immaculate  distributor  of  criminal  justice,  Lord  Ellen- 
borough,  were  in  a  majority  of  one.  By  what  holy  means  think 
you?  Why,  by  the  aid  of  that  which  cannot  be  described  in 
dignified  language — by  the  aid  of  a  LIB — a  false,  positive,  palpa- 
ble LIE  ! 

This  manoeuvre  was  resorted  to— a  scheme  worthy  of  its  author?, 
—they  had  perceived  the  effects  of  the  manly  and  dignified  reso- 
utions  of  the  18th  of  June.  These  resolutions  had  actually  ter- 
rified our  enemies,  whilst  they  cheered  those  noble  and  illustrious 
Mends  who  had  preferred  the  wishes  and  wants  of  the  people  of 
Ireland  to  the  gratification  of  paltry  and  disgraceful  minions.  The 
manoeuvre — the  scheme,  was  calculated  to  get  rid  of  the  effect  of 
those  resolutions,  nay,  to  turn  their  force  against  us,  and  thus 
was  the  pious  fraud  effected.  (Hear.) 

There  is,  you  have  heard,  a  newspaper,  in  the  permanent  pay 
of  peculation  and  corruption,  printed  in  London,  under  the  name 
of  the  Courier,  &  paper  worthy  the  meridian  of  Constantinople, 
at  its  highest  tide  of  despotism.  This  paper  was  directed  to  as- 
sert the  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Dublin,  from  excellent  authority, 
declaring,  I  know  not  how  many  peers,  sons  of  peers,  and  baro^ 
nets  had  retracted  the  resolutions  of  the  18th  of  June ;  that  those 
resolutions  were  carried  by  surprise,  and  that  they  had  been  ac 
tually  rescinded  at  a  subsequent  meeting. 

Never  did  human  baseness  invent  a  more  gross  untruth ;  never 
did  a  more  unfounded  lie  fall  from  the  father  of  falsehood;  never 
did  human  turpitude  submit  to  become  the  vehicle  of  so  "glaring" 
a  dereliction  of  truth.  But  the  Courier  received  its  pay,  and  it 

was  ready  to  earn  the  wages  of  its  prostitution.     It  did  so i* 

published  the  foul  falsehoods,  with  the  full  knowledge  of  their  lalse-* 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  97 

nood;  it  published  them  in  two  editions,  the  day  before  and  the 
lay  of  the  debate—at  a  period  when  inquiry  was  useless— when 
a  contradiction  from  authority  could  not  arrive ;  at  that  moment 
tins  case  trick  was  played,  through  the  intervention  of  thai 
newspaper,  upon  the  British  public  ! 

Will  that  public  go  too  far,  when  they  charge  this  impure 
Btratagem  on  those  whose  purposes  it  served  ?  Why  even  ir 
this  country,  the  administration  deems  it  necessary  to  Vive  for 
the  support  of  one  miserable  paper,  two  places-one  of  five,  and 
the  other  of  eight  hundred  a  year— the  stamp  duty  remitted— 
the  proclamations  paid  for  as  advertisements— and  a  permanent 
bonus  of  one  thousand  pounds  per  annum !  If  the  bribe  here  be 
so  high  what  must  it  be  in  England,  where  the  toil  is  so  much 
greater?  And,  think  you,  then,  that  the  Courier  published  un- 
sanctioned  by  its  paymasters,  this  useful  lie? 

^  I,CT\n°W  *2  thejnext  8td£e  in  the  system  of  delusion  :  it  is 
that  which  my  friend,  Mr.  O'Neil  has  noticed.  He  has  power- 
folly  exposed  to  you  the  absurdity  of  crediting  the  ministerial 
newspapers,  when  they  informed  you  that  the  member  for  Lime- 
rick had  stated  in  the  House  of  Commons,  that  the  commercial 
interests  of  Limerick  were  opposed  to  the  Catholic  claims.  Sir 
for  my  part,  I  entirely  agree  with  Mr.  O'Neil ;  I  am  sure  Colo- 
nel \  ereker  said  no  such  thing  ;  he  is  a  brave  man,  and,  there- 
fore a  man  of  truth ;  he  is  probably  a  pleasant  friend,  and  he 
has  those  manly  traits  about  him,  which  make  it  not  unpleasant 
to  oppose  him  as  an  enemy ;  I  like  the  candour  of  his  character 
and  our  opposition  to  him  should  assume  the  same  frankness, 
and  openness,  and  perfect  determination.  He  well  knows  that 

hiSdfjrt!  r  ^V°mmfCial  int<*ests  of  Limerick  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  Catholics-that  the  Quakers  of  Limerick,  who  pos- 
sess almost  the  residue  of  the  trade,  are  friendly  to  us,  and  that, 
™th  the  excep  ion  of  the  "tag,  rag,  and  bob-tail"  of  ihe  corpo- 
ration—(loud  laughter)  there  is  not  to  be  found  amongst  the 
men  who  ought  to  be  his  constituents,  a  angle  exception  to  li- 
berality. (Repeated  applause.) 

There  remains  another  delusion;  it  is  the  darling  deception 
of  this  ministry-that  which  has  reconciled  the  toleraJn  of 
Lord  Castlereagh  with  the  intolerance  of  Lord  Liverpool  •  it  is 
that  which  has  sanctified  the  connection  between  both  and  the 
place-procuring,  prayer-mumbling  Wilberforce  ;  it  consists  in 
•nirfiofu  and  securities.  The  Catholics  may  be  emancipated,  say 
ministers  in  public,  but  they  must  give  securities;  by  secuntie* 
aay  the  same  ministers  in  private,  to  their  supporting  bigots'  w« 


98  SELECT  SPEECHES  UP 

mean  nothing  definite,  but  something  that  shall  certainly  be  in- 
consistent with  the  Popish  religion — nothing  shall  be  a  security 
which  they  can  possibly  concede — and  we  shall  deceive  them  and 
secure  you,  whilst  we  carry  the  air  of  liberality  and  toleration 
'Hear.) 

And  can  there  be  any  honest  man  deceived  by  the  cant  and 
cry  for  securities  ? — is  there  any  man  that  believes  that  there  is 
safety  in  oppression,  contumely,  and  insult,  and  that  security  is 
necessary  against  protection,  liberality,  and  conciliation  ? — does 
any  man  really  suppose,  that  there  is  no  danger  from  the  conti- 
nuance of  unjust  grievance  and  exasperating  intolerance ;  and 
that  security  is  wanting  against  the  effects  of  justice  and  perfect 
toleration  ?  Who  is  it  that  is  idiot  enough  to  believe,  that  he  is 
quite  safe  in  dissension,  disunion,  and  animosity,  and  wants  a 
protection  against  harmony,  benevolence,  and  charity  ? — that  iu 
hatred  there  is  safety — in  affection,  ruin? — that  now,  that  we 
are  excluded  from  the  constitution,  we  may  be  loyal — but  that 
if  we  were  entrusted,  personally,  in  its  safety,  we  shall  wish  to 
destroy  it  ?  (Hear,  hear.) 

But  this  is  a  pitiful  delusion  :  there  was,  indeed,  a  time,  when 
"  sanctions  and  securities"  might  have  been  deemed  necessary — 
when  the  Catholic  was  treated  as  an  enemy  to  man  and  to  God 
— when  his  property  was  the  prey  of  legalized  plunder — his  reli- 
gion, and  its  sacred  ministers,  the  object  of  legalized  persecution ! 
— when,  in  defiance  and  contempt  of  the  dictates  of.justice,  and 
the  faith  of  treaties — and  I  attest  the  venerable  city,  in  which  I 
stand,  that  solemn  treaties  were  basely  violated — the  English  fac- 
tion in  the  land  turned  the  Protestant  into  an  intolerant  and  mur- 
derous bigot,  in  order  that  it  might,  in  security,  plunder  tkat  very 
Protestant,  and  oppress  his  and  our  common  country!  Poor  ne- 
glected Ireland  !  At  that  period,  securities  might  be  supposed 
wanting;  the  people  of  Ireland— the  Catholic  population  of  Ire- 
land were  then  as  brave  and  as  strong,  comparatively,  as  they  are 
at  present;  and  the  country  then  afforded  advantages  for  the  de- 
sultory warfare  of  a  valiant  peasantry,  which,  fortunately,  have 
since  been  exploded  by  increasing  cultivation. 

At  the  period  to  which  I  allude,  the  Stuart  family  was  still  in, 
existence  ;  they  possessed  a  strong  claim  to  the  exaggerating  al 
Jegiance  and  unbending  fidelity  of  the  Irish  people.  Every  right 
that  hereditary  descent  could  give  the  royal  race  of  Stuart,  they 
possessed — in  private  life,  too,  they  were  endeared  to  the  Irish, 
because  they  wure,  even  the  worst  of  them,  gentlemen.  Put 
they  hud  still  stronger  claims  on  the  sympathy  and  gcaerositj 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,   M.P.  09 

of  the  Irish  :  they  had  been  exalted,  and  were  fallen — they  had 
possessed  thrones  and  kingdoms,  and  were  then  in  poverty  and 
humiliation.  All  the  enthusiastic  sympathies  of  the  Irish  heart 
were  roused  for  them— and  all  the  powerful  motives  of  personal 
interest  bore,  in  the  same  channel,  the  restoration  of  their  rights 
—the  triumph  of  their  religion,  the  restitution  of  their  ancient 
-.inheritances,  would  then  have  been  the  certain  and  immediate 
consequences  of  the  success  of  the  Stuart  family,  in  their  preten- 
sions to  the  throne. 

At  the  period  to  which  I  allude,  the  Catholic  clergy  were 
bound  by  no  oath  of  allegiance ;  to  be  a  dignitary  of  the  Catho- 
lic church  in  Ireland,  was  a  transportable  felony— and  the  oath 
of  allegiance  was  so  intermingled  with  religious  tenets,  that  no 
clergyman  or  layman  of  the  Catholic  persuasion  could  possibly 
take  it.  At  that  period,  the  Catholic  clergy  were  all  educated 
m  foreign  countries,  under  the  eye  of  the  Pope,  and  within  the 
inspection  of  the  house  of  Stuart.  From  fifty-eight  colleges  and 
convents,  on  the  Continent,  did  the  Catholic  clergy  repair  to 
meet,  for  the  sake  of  their  God,  poverty,  persecution,  contumely 
and,  not  unfrequently,  death,  in  their  native  land.  (Hear,  hear  ) 
They  were  often  hunted  like  wild  blasts,  and  never  could  claim 
any  protection  from  the  law  !  (Hear,  hear.)  That— that  was 
a  period,  when  securities  might  well  have  been  necessary— when 
sanctions  and  securities  might  well  have  been  requisite. 

But,  what  was  the  fact  1— what  was  the  truth  which  history 
vouches  ?  Why,  that  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Irish  Catholics 
having  once  submitted  to  the  new  government— having  once 
plighted  their  ever  unbroken  faith  to  King  William  and  his  suc- 
cessors—having once  submitted  to  that  great  constitutional 
principle,  that  in  extreme  cases  the  will  of  the  people  is  the  sole 
jT>  m  extreme  cases  the  Pe°ple  have  the  clear  and  un- 
doubted right  to  cashier  a  tyrant,  and  provide  a  substitute  on 
the  throne— the  Irish  Catholics,  having  fought  for  their  legitimate 
sovereign,  until  he.  himself,  and  not  they,  fled  from  the  strife- 
adopted,  by  treaty,  his  English  successor,  though  not  his  heir-^ 
transferred  to  that  successor,  and  the  inheritors  of  his  throne 
their  allegiance.  They  have  preserved  their  covenant— with  all 
the  temptations  and  powerful  motives  to  disaffection,  they  ful- 
filled their  part  of  the  social  contract,  even  in  dewte  of  its  vio- 
ation  by  the  other  party.  (Loud  and  continued  applause  ) 

How  do  I  prove  the  continued  loyalty  of  the  Catbolico  of  Ire 

land  under  every  persecution  ?     I  do  i.ot  appeal  for  any  proofc 

the-.r  OWu  records,  however  rrermin*  -I  ai.peal  merely  to  the 


100  SELECT    SPEECHES    OP 

testimony  of  their  rulers  and  their  enemies — (hear,  hear)-  I 
.appeal  to  the  letters  of  Primate  Boulter — to  the  state-papers  'A 
the  humane  and  patriotic  Chesterfield.  I  have  their  loyalty 
through  the  admissions  of  every  secretary  and  governor  of  Ire- 
land, until  it  is  finally  and  conclusively  put  on  record  by  the 
legislature  of  Ireland  itself.  The  relaxing  statutes  expressly 
declare,  that  the  penal  laws  ought  to  be  repealed — not  from 
motives  of  policy  or  growing  liberality,  but  (1  quote  the  words,) 
"  because  of  the  long-continued  and  uninterrupted  loyalty  of  the 
Catholics."  This  is  the  consummation  of  my  proof — and  I  defy 
the  veriest  disciple  of  the  doctrine  of  delusion  to  overturn  it 
(Applause.) 

But  as  the  Catholics  were  faithful  in  those  dismal  and  perse- 
cuting periods — when  they  were  exasperated  by  the  emaciating 
cruelty  of  barbarous  law  and  wretched  policy — as  they  were 
then  faithful,  notwithstanding  every  temporal  and  every  religious 
temptation  and  excitement  to  the  contrary,  is  it  in  human  cre- 
dulity to  believe  my  Lord  Castlereagh,  when  he  asserts  that 
securities  are  now  necessary  ?  Now,  that  the  ill-fated  house  of 
Stuart  is  extinct — and  had  it  not  been  extinct  I  should  have 
been  silent  as  to  what  their  claims  were — now,  that  the  will  of 
the  people,  and  the  right  of  hereditary  succession  are  not  to  be 
separated — now,  that  the  Catholic  clergy  are  educated  in  Ire- 
land, and  are  all  bound  by  their  oaths  of  allegiance  to  that  throne 
and  constitution,  which,  in  the  room  of  persecution,  gives  them 
protection  and  security — now,  that  all  claims  upon  forfeited  pro- 
perty are  totally  extinguished  in  the  impenetrabl-3  night  of  obscu- 
rity and  oblivion — now,  that  the  Catholic  nobility  and  gentry 
are  in  the  enjoyment  of  many  privileges  and  franchises,  and  that 
the  full  participation  of  the  constitution  opens  upon  us  in  close 
and  cheering  prospect— shall  we  be  told  that  securities  are  now 
expedient,  though  they  were  heretofore  unnecessary  ?  Oh !  it 
is  a  base  and  dastardly  insult  upon  our  understandings,  and  on 
our  principles,  and  one  which  each  of  us  would,  in  private  life, 
resent — as  in  public  wfe  proclaim  it  to  the  contempt  and 
tion  of  the  universe.  (Great  applause.) 

Long  as  I  have  trespassed  on  you,  I  cannot  yet  close  :  I 
a  word  to  address  to  you  upon  your  own  conduct.  The  repre- 
sentative for  your  city,  Colonel  Vereker,  has  openly  opposed 
your  liberties — Ke  has  opposed  even  the  consideration  of  your 
claims.  You  are  beings,  to  be  sure,  with  human  countenances, 
ami  the  limbs  of  men— but  you  arfe  not  men — the  iron  has  en- 
u?red  into  your  souls,  and  branded -the  name  of  slave  upon  tbei&. 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,    ESQ.,   M.  P.  101 

if  you  submit  to  be  thus  trampled  on  !  His  opposition  to  you 
IB  decided — meet  him  with  a  similar,  and,  if  possible,  a  superior 
hostility.  You  deserve  not  freedom,  you,  citizens  of  Limerick, 
with  the  monuments  of  the  valour  of  your  ancestors  around 
you — you  are  less  than  men,  if  my  feeble  tongue  be  requisite  to 
rouse  you  into  activity.  (Applause.)  Your  city  is,  at  present 
nearly  a  close  borough — do  but  will  it,  and  you  make  it  free 
(Continued  applause.) 

I  know  legal  obstacles  have  been  thrown  in  your  way — I  know 
that,  for  months  past,  the  Recorder  has  sat  alone  at  the  session! 
— that  he  has  not  only  tried  cases,  in  the  absence  of  any  cthei 
magistrate,  which  he  is  authorised  by  law  to  do,  but  that  ho  has 
solely  opened  and  adjourned  the  sessions,  which,  in  my  opinion, 
he  is  clearly  unwarranted  in  doing  ;  he  has,  by  this  means,  I 
know,  delayed  the  registry  of  your  freeholds,  because  two  magis- 
trates are  necessary  for  that  purpose  :  I  have,  however,  the  sat- 
isfaction to  tell  you,  that  the  Court  of  King's  Beach  will,  in  the 
next  term,  have  to  determine  on  the  legality  of  his  conduct,  and 
of  that  of  the  other  charter  magistrates,  who  have  banished  them- 
selves, I  understand,  from  the  Sessions'  Court,  since  the  registry 
has  been  spoken  of !  They  shall  be  served  with  the  regular  no- 
tices ;  and,  depend  upon  it,  this  scheme  cannot  long  retard  you 
(Great  applause.) 

I  speak  to  you  on  this  subject  as  a  lawyer — you  can  best  judge 
in  what  estimation  my  opinion  is  amongst  you — but  such  as  it 
is,  I  pledge  it  to  you,  that  you  can  easily  obviate  the  present  ob 
stacles  to  the  registry  of  your  freeholds.  I  can  also  assure  you 
that  the  constitution  of  your  city  is  perfectly  free — that  the  sons 
of  freemen,  and  all  those  who  have  served  an  apprenticeship  tc 
&  freeman,  are  all  entitled  to  their  freedom,  and  to  vote  for  tii» 
representation  of  your  city.  (Hear,  hear,  hear.) 

I  can  tell  you  more :  that  if  you  bring  your  candidate  to  a  poll, 
your  adversary  will  be  deprived  of  any  aid  from  non-resident  or 
occasional  freemen  ;  we  will  strike  off  his  list  the  freemen  from 
Gort  and  from  Galway,  the  freemen  from  the  band,  and  many 
from  the  battalion  of  the  city  of  Limerick  militia.  (Loud  cries 
of  "  hear,  hear.") 

In  short,  the  opening  of  the  borough  is  a  matter  of  little  diffi 
culty.  If  you  will  but  form  a  committee,  and  collect  funds,  i  i 
your  opulent  city,  you  will  soon  have  a  representative  ready  to 
obey  your  voice — you  cannot  want  a  candidate.  Tf  the  emanci- 
pation bill  passes  next  sessions,  as  it  is  so  likely  to  do,  and  that  no 
Other  candidate  offers,  I  myself  will  bring  your  present  number 


102  SELECT  SPEECHES  0? 

to  the  poll.  (Loud  applause.)  I,  probably,  will  have  little 
chance  of  success — but  I  will  have  the  satisfaction  of  showing 
this  city  and  the  county,  what  the  freeborn  mind  might  achieve 
if  it  were  properly  seconded.  (Here  the  eloquent  and  patriotic 
speaker  was  interrupted  for  some  minutes,  by  thundering  ap- 
plause.) 

I  conclude  by  conjuring  you  to  exert  yourselves ;  waste  not 
your  just  resentments  in  idle  applause  at  the  prospect  1  open  to 
you ;  let  not  the  feeling  of  the  moment  be  calumniated  as  a  hasty 
ebullition  of  anger ;  let  it  not  be  transitory,  as  our  resentments 
.generally  are,  but  let  us  remember  ourselves,  our  children,  and 
our  country?  (Hear,  hear,  hear.; 

Let  me  not,  iowever,  close,  withoi  t  obviating  any  calumny 
that  may  be  flung  upon  my  motives.  I  can  easily  pledge  my- 
self to  you  that  they  are  disinterested  and  pure — I  trust  they 
are  more.  My  object  in  the  attainment  of  emancipation  is  in 
nothing  personal,  save  in  the  feelings  hich  parental  love  inspires 
and  gratifies.  1  am,  I  trust,  actuated  by  that  sense  of  Christian- 
jty  which  teaches  us  that  the  first  duty  of  our  religion  is  benc- 
voience  and  universal  charity  ;  I  am,  I  know,  actuated  by  the 
doternii nation  to  rescue  our  common  country  from  the  weaklier, 
the  insecurity,  which  dissension  and  religious  animosity  produce 
and  tend  to  perpetuate  :  I  wish  to  see  the  strength  of  the  island 
—  this  uncouquered,  this  unconquerable  island — combined  to  re- 
gist  the  mighty  foe  of  freedom,  the  extinguisher  of  civil  liberty, 
Who  rules  the  Continent  from  Petersburgh  to  the  verge  ot  the  Irish 
bayonets  in  Spain.  (Loud  and  repeated  applause.)  It  is  his 
interest,  it  is  a  species  of  duty  he  owes  to  his  faiaily — to  that 
powerful  house,  which  he  has  established  on  the  ruins  of  the 
thrones  and  dominations  of  Europe — to  extinguish,  for  ever,  re- 
presentative and  popular  government  in  these  countries ;  he  has 
the  same  direct  intent  which  the  Roman  general  had  to  invade 
our  beloved  country — "  Ut  libertas  veluti  et  conspectu."  His 
power  can  be  resisted  only  by  combining  yo';r  physical  force  with 
your  enthusiastic  and  undaunted  hearts.  •  (Hear,  hear.) 

There  is  liberty  amongst  you  still.  I  could  not  talk  as  I  do, 
of  the  Liverpools  and  Castlereaghs,  of  his  court,  even  if  he  had 
the  folly  to  employ  such  things — I  wish  he  had  ;  you  have  the 
protection  of  many  a  salutary  law — of  that  palladium  of  per- 
sonal liberty — the  trial  by  jury.  I  wish  to  ensure  your  liU>r- 
ties,  to  measure  your  interests  on  the  present  order  of  the  state. 
that  we  may  protect  the -very  rȣn  that  oppress  us.  (LouO 
appla»se.) 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P  103 

Yes,  if  Ireland  be  fairly  roused  to  the  battle  of  the  countn 
nd  of  freedom,  all  is  safe.     Britain  has  been  often  conquered  : 
he  Romans  conquered  her — the  Saxons  conquered    her — the 
Jormans  conquered  her — in  short,  whenever  she  was  invaded, 
he  was  conquered.     But  our  country  was  never  subdued  ;  we 
lever  lost  our  liberties  in  battle,  nor  did  we  ever  submit  to 
<rmed  conquerors.     It  is  true,  the  old  inhabitants  lost  their 
•ountry  in  piece-meal,  by  fraud  and  treachery  ;  they  relied  upor 
he  faith  of  men,  who  never,  never  observed  a  treaty  with  them, 
intil  a  new  and  mixed  race  has  sprung  up,  in  dissension  ana 
liscord  ;  but  the  Irish  ,ieart  and  soul  still  predominate  and  per- 
vade the  sons  of  the  oppressors  themselves.     The  generosity, 
.he  native  bravery,  the  innate  fidelity,  the  enthusiastic  love  of 
whatever  is  great  and  noble — those  splendid   characteristics  oJ 
»:he  Irish  mind  remain  as  the  imperishable  relics  of  our  country's 
former  greatness — of  that  illustrious  period,  when  she  was  the 
light  and  the  glory  of  barbarous  Europe — when  the  nations 
nround  sought  for  instruction  and  example  in  her  numerous 
seminaries — and  when  the  civilization  and  religion  of  all  Europe 
were  preserved  in  her  alone.     (Continued  cheering.) 

You  will,  my  friends,  defend  her — you  may  die,  but  you  can- 
not yield  to  any  foreign  invader.  (Hear,  hear.)  Whatever  be 
my  fate,  I  shall  be  happy,  whilst  I  live,  in  reviving  amongst  you 
the  love  and  admiration  of  your  native  land,  and  in  calling  upon 
Irishmen — no  matter  how  they  may  worship  their  common  God 
-to  sacrifice  every  contemptible"  prejudice  on  the  altar  of  their 
common  country.  (Great  applause.)  For  myself,  I  shall  con- 
clude, by  expressing  the  sentiment  that  throbs  in  my  heart — I 
shall  express  it  in  the  language  of  a  young  bard  of  Erin,*  and 
my  beloved  friend,  whose  delightful  muse  has  the  sound  of  th« 
ancient  minstrelsy — 

"  Still  shalt  thon  be  my  midnight  dream— 
Thy  glory  still  my  waking  theme ; 
And  ev'ry  thought  and  wish  of  mine, 
Unconquered  Erin,  shall  be  thine !" 

This  •perch  procured  him  from  the  meeting  the  following  compliment  •— 

•*  Resolved — That  our  sincere  thanks  are  hereby  returned  to  Daniel 
O'Connell,  barrister -at-law,  for  his  luminous  and  patriotic  speech  this 
day ;  as  well  as  for  bis  manly  and  distinguished  exertions  at  all  times,  ir 
Ihn  cause  of  his  country. 

•  Charles  Phillips,  Esq.,  author  of  the  poem -.entitled  "  The,  Emerald  Isle."  then  at  the 
Irish,  subsequently  for  many  years  at  the  English  bar,  and  now  one  of  the  District.Curo- 
evs  of  1'unkruvtcv  in  Engl^auJ 


104  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Tlie  letral  epinions  delivered  by  Mr.  O'Connell  in  this  s]  eech  were  ALL  verified  in  the 
courts  of  law.  The  city  of  Limerick,  from  being  a  nomination  borough,  was.  by  means  o/ 
legal  decisions,  thrown  open  to  the  popular  control,  as  Mr.  O'Connell  had  pointed  out.  The 
c  Kpense  was  enormous,  but  it  wss  cheerfully  borne  by  the  patriotic  citizens.*  The  popu- 
,ous  triumph  was  complete,  and  Mr.  O'Connell  had  the  delightful  satisfaction  to  have 
roused  the  sleeper  and  presided  over  the  victory 

Various  other  Catholic  meetings  were  held  in  counties  and  towns  of  Ireland  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  1812,  at  which  resolutions  to  the  same  general  effect  as  those  *e 
cave  recorded  of  the  Limerick  meeting,  were  unanimously  adopted.  If  in  these  and  oti  er 
demonstrations  of  popular  opinion  in  Ireland,  one  sentiment  more  than  another  was  peca- 
Jarly  marked,  it  was  that  of  determined  hostility  to  the  proposition  of  giving  in  exchange 
for  Emancipation  any  of  what  were  insultingly  termed  "  securities,"  especially  and  parti- 
cularly that  of  which  we  shall  have  soon  to  treat  fully,  the  "veto"  proposition. 

Jfr.  O'Connell  was  enabled  to  attend  the  Cork  "city  and  county"  meeting,  held  on  tri- 
a»j,  21st  August,  at  the  North  Parish  Chapel,  William  Coppinger,  jun.,  Esq.,  of  Barry* 
Court,  in  the  chair;  buf  the  Cork  paper  (the  Intelligencer),  which  contained  the  proct'id- 
fngs,  states  that  it  was  unable  to  report  with  prtcision  his  speech,  and  »o  passed  it  over 
entirely,  with  a  few  complimentary  sentences 

in  the  list  of  resolutions  here  passed  we  find  the  following  :- 

"  15th.  Resolved— That  our  cordial  thanks  are  hereby  offered  to  our 
patriotic  fellow- Catholic  Counsellor  O'Connell,  as  the  tribute  of  our  ad- 
miration and  applause,  for  his  unceasing  and  energetic  exertions  in  the 
common  cause  ;  and  for  his  able  and  eloquent  speech  delivered  here  thig 

a»y 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  perio.1  of  the  parliamentary  recess  in  the  yew  1812,  was  by  no 
means  a  season  of  repose  and  quiet,  either  to  the  Catholics  or  their  opponents.  The  events  of 
the  session  just  gone  by  had  startled  and  effectually  aroused  both  parties.  At  a  moment  wheu 
a  ministry,  generally  known  to  be  adverse  to  all  concession,  had,  after  the  double  shock  ot 
the  loss  of  their  head  and  a  vote  of  want  of  confidence  carried  against  them  .n  the  lower 
house,  been  suddenly  reseated  in  office,  with  renewed  power,  and.  as  It  Tras  natural  to  sup- 
pose, unabated  inveteracy,  Catholic  and  antf-CathoHc  in  Ireland  had  beheld,  with  equal 
astonishment,  a  motion  favourable  to  the  former,  carried  by  a  large  majority  in  the  Com- 
mons, and  only  lost  in  the  Lords  by  a  majority  of  one— a  defeat  in  name,  but  virtually  a 
triumph. 

The  probabilities  were  on  the  side  of  an  actual  and  entu  success  in  the  next  session. 
The  grand  object  therefore,  with  the  one  party,  was  to  advance  this  consummation  during 
the  recess  by  all  the  means  in  their  power;  and,  of  course,  with  the  other  party,  to  strengthen 
the  old  obstructions,  and  enueatuar  to  create  others  anew. 

The  party  of  the  bigot*  had,  however,  a  fearful  advantage  in  means,  and  were  not  deterred 
fr<vmNusing  them  by  any  scrupulosity.  We  have  already  alluded  to  the  efforts  at  reviving 
lie  "  no  Popery"  cry.  But,  successful  as  these  were  with  the  strongly-prejudiced  public  mini! 
/  England,  }t  was  determined  not  to  trust  to  the  mere  chance  of  their  infl  uence  re-acting  upor 
the  parliament.  The  lattc-r  was  doomed—  doomed,  because  of  its  one  act  of  liberality— n 
consideration  givon  to  its  many  acts  of  an  opposite  nature,  not  even  to  the  surprisiug  cele- 
rity with  which  it  had  retracted  and  cancelled  the  vote  of  want  of  confidence  before  men 
lioned 

Accordingly,  early  in  the  month  of  October,  1812,  the  usual  proclamation  appeared  <4 
the  dissolution  of  parliament,  and  writs  were  immediately  issued  for  a  general  election. 


*  The  father  of  the  present  mayor  of  Limerick,  Mr.  Edmund  Ryan,  subscribed  £500; 
•nd  .mother  young  pentlen  an,  a  Mr.  Patrick  Cruirfi,  a  similar  sum.  The  VereUors  wer« 
tlmivn  out;  but.  nlas!  the-  people,  in  the  excess  of  Uieir  cnthusiuMii,  put  Sprinc  lUce  IB 
nU  i.li-.ce.  What  a  wactk-al  blunder. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  105 

The  struggle  was  now  transferred  to  the  hustings ;  and  that  it  was  one  of  no  very  gentle 
or  moderate  character  may  well  be  supposed.  The  government  and  its  agents  and  sup- 
porters stopped  at  nothing  to  secure  the  return  of  men  opposed  to  concession,  and  their 
<flbrta  were  very  generally  successful.  . 


THE  CITIZENS  OF  DUBLIN  v.  POLICE  MAGISTRATES. 

BEFORE  coming  to  an  occasion  when  Mr.  O'Connell  expressed  his  sentiments  npo',  the 
results  of  the  general  election,  there  is  an  incident  of  his  legal  avocations  to  be  noted. 

On  .Monday,  the  19th  of  October,  he  and  Mr.  Finlay  appeared  as  counsel  fo?  the  prot«- 
cutorein  the  matter  of  .*>me  charges  made  by  a  large  number  of  citizens  of  Dublin  againut 
the  city  police-magistrates,  and  investigated  into  by  Mr.  Sergeant  (the  late  judge)  Mooro 
and  Mr.  Disney,  who  were  appointed  by  government  for  that  purpose.  Tbere  was  a  very 
crowded  attendance  to  hear  the  case,  being  one  of  considerable  interest  to  the  inhabitants 
«f  Dublin  at  large ;  but,  to  the  astonishment  of  all  present,  the  commissioners  announced 
that  they  had  determined  not  to  permit  the  interference  of  counsel. 

"It  was  their  impression,"  said  Mr.  Sergeant  Moore,  who  made  this  announcement,  "that 
it  was  much  better  to  dispense  with  the  assistance  of  counsel,  and  to  investigate  the  Jiarges 
oy  an  examination  of  witnesses  unperverted  by  colouring  or  exaggeration  of  any  descrip 
tion.  It  was  evui  a  matter  of  question  to  them  whether  there  was  not  an  irregularity  in 
the  interference  of  gentlemen  of  the  bar  when  the  nature  and  constitution  of  the  committee 
were  taken  into  consideration." 

Counsellor  O'Connell  observed,  that  he  had  no  doubt  either 
upon  any  of  the  points  either  of  the  regularity  of  the  interference 
of  counsel,  their  entire  right  to  assist  in  the  present  investiga- 
tion, or  the  actual  and  absolute  necessity  of  their  assistance. 

Pie  said  that,  as  a  member  of  the  Irish  bar,  he  was  fully  en- 
titled and  empowered  to  appear  before  any  tribunal  whatsoever, 
on  behalf  of  his  majesty's  subjects,  in  any  instance  wherein  their 
lives,  liberties  or  properties  were  concerned ;  and  if  there  was 
not,  as  thore  ought  not  to  be,  any  question  as  to  his  title  and  his 
right  to  appear  upon  that  or  any  other  legal  occasion,  there  could, 
of  course,  be  as  little  as  to  the  right  and  title,  as  well  as  certainly 
to  the  expediency  and  utility  of  his  learned  friend's  appearance 
and  assistance. 

The  fact  was,  there  were  the  most  heinous  charges  pending 
against  individuals  holding  high  and  very  important  situations ; 
^he  interests  of  the  community  were  concerned,  the  lives  and 
properties  of  the  inhabitants  of  Dublin  were  deeply  interested ; 
nothing,  therefore,  ought  to  be  left  undone  to  satisfy  the  public 
mind,  to  make  the  investigation  searching  and  complete.  The 
whole  matter  should  be  sifted  to  the  bottom,  and  every  effort 
made  to  arrive  at  the  truth  ;  and  for  these  purposes  the  attend- 
ance and  assistance  of  counsel  were  imperatively  required. 

a 


106  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

lu  truth,  he  considered  it  little  better  than  a  libel  upon  the 
bar,  to  say  that  its  attendance  was  unnecessary.  Surely,  if  the 
parties  accused  were  innocent  of  the  heavy  charges  brought 
against  them,  th°  exertions  of  a  barrister  could  do  them  no  pos- 
sible injury.  If  they  were  really  innocent,  as  it  was  asserted, 
they  oould  not  have  anything  to  dread  ;  but  if  they  were  guilty, 
the  exortions  of  an  honest  and  zealous  barrister  were  peculiarly 
needed  to  point  out  the  extent  of  their  delinquency,  to  leave  no 
branch  of  their  crimes  unexplored,  to  allow  no  one  particular  of 
their  misdemeanours  to  remain  unrevealcd  to  the  world. 

Besides,  it  was  to  be  recollected,  that  those  parties  themselves 
enjoyed  the  advantage  of  legal  aid.  There  were  no  less  than  six 
of  the  accused  who  were  themselves  capable  of  performing  the 
duty  he  had  undertaken  ;  and  the  rest  of  them  possessed  the  ad- 
vantage of  an  acquaintance  with  the  rules  of  evidence  and  of  an 
experience  and  practised  dexterity,  highly  available  to  them  in 
the  conduct  of  their  defence.  It  would  be,  therefore,  absurd  to 
pretend  that  they  could  at  all  be  considered  in  the  light  of  or- 
dinary persons  unskilled  in  legal  proceedings  and  unfamiliar  with 
them. 

And  when  they  were  in  possession  of  such  advantages,  was  it 
riot  a  palpable  injustice  to  attempt  to  deprive  his  clients  of  what 
would  no  more  than  place  them  upon  an  equality?  It  was  an 
absolute  and  gross  injustice  so  to  act.  He  would  most  solemnly 
and  energetically  protest  against  the  foul  play  of  not  allowing 
the  benefits  of  legal  aid  upon  the  one  side  as  upon  the  other ; 
and  until  the  commissioners  should  take  it  upon  themselves  to 
order  him  to  walk  out  of  court,  he  would  not  so  much  surrender 
his  own  privileges  and  his  clients'  rights  as  +o  cease  his  protest 
for  one  moment.  He  appeared  in  court  as  the  retained  counsel 
of  the  memorialists ;  and  if  he  were  to  be  disbarred,  he  could 
not,  of  course,  help  it :  but  this  he  would  most  certainly  do- 
conscious  of  the  extent  of  his  professional  privileges,  the  neces- 
sity and  entire  regularity  of  his  attendance  ;  if  the  court  should 
decide  against  him,  he  would  instantly  throw  up  his  brief'  and 
advise  his  clients  not  to  attempt  going  one  step  further  in  thix, 
nost  necessary,  most  useful,  most  solemn,  and  most  desirable 
,iivestigation. 

Without  legal  aid  this  inquiry  would  be  fruitless — the  truth 
could  not  be  known,  the  intentions  of  the  legislature  and  of  the 
government  (to  whom  praise  was  due  for  giving  that  opportu- 
nity) should  bo  defeated,  the  country  will  be  disappointed,  tbo 
public-spirited  individuals  who  had  brought  that  important  bub 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.5   M.P.  10? 

ject  before  tne  nation  would  have  been  making  only  a  nugatory 
effort  at  the  attainment  of  justice — and  he  should  therefore  re- 
peat, that  if  the  court  were  against  him  he  would  instantly  and 
unhesitatingly  throw  up  his  brief,  and  advise  those  upon  whose 
behalf  he  appeared  not  to  proceed  any  further. 

Again,  he  would  say,  the  present  inquiry  was  most  important.. 
The  criminality  it  was  instituted  to  examine  into,  deeply  and  in- 
timately concerned  the  citizens  of  Dublin  in  their  lives,  liberties, 
and  properties.  His  instructions  authorized  him  to  declare,  that 
delinquency  of  the  most  enormous  magnitude,  perpetrated  in  the 
guise  and  under  the  pretence  of  the  administration  of  justice, 
would  be  exhibited  to  the  public  in  all  its  enormity.  Curioub 
instances  of  imposition  would  be  exposed  to  view.  Penalties — 
sometimes  with  ludicrous  whimsicality — sometimes  with  invete- 
rate cruelty.  The  investigation  of  such  charges  as  these  was  a 
matter  of  the  most  serious  and  highest  importance  to  the  com- 
inunity  at  large — they  required  the  most  serious  pains- taking 
and  solemn  attention — they  demanded  all  the  consideration  of 
the  commissioners  themselves,  and  (surely  if  the  assistance  of  a 
barrister  had  ever  been  found  useful  in  forwarding  the  ends  of  jus- 
tice, in  protecting  and  vindicating  the  liberty  of  the  subject)  thej 
demanded  also  all  the  exertions  of  a  professional  man. 

He,  therefore,  claimed  to  be  heard  as  a  barrister — he  claimed 
to  be  heard  as  a  householder — as  a  citizen  of  Dublin.  How 
could  the  commissioner  possibly  resist  this  his  just  demand? 
By  what  authority,  and  according  to  what  precedent?  In  the 
courts  of  law,  high  and  low,  of  every  degree,  it  never  was  held 
or  pretended  that  a  barrister's  assistance  could  be  dispensed  with 
The  House  of  Commons  admits  that  assistance.  How,  then,  bv 
what  authority,  and  according  to  what  maxims  of  expediency  or 
justice  could  that  Court,  and  that  Court  alone,  reject? 

Mr.  Finlny,  the  other  counsel  for  the  citizens,  followed  with  an  able  argument,  but  the 
Commissioners  were  not  to  be  moved. 


AGGREGATE  MEETING. 

to  Thursday,  the  5th  of  November,  1812,  there  was  an  aggregate  meeting  of  the  Catholic-; 
of  the  county  of  Dublin,  held  nt  Kilmuinham,  convened,  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
requisition,  "  to  take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  petitioning  parliament  for  tho 
total  repeal  of  tlie  penal  lav.-s  affecting  our  (the  Catholic)  body,"  but,  in  fact,  to  afford  tn 
opportunity  of  djscuasing  the  results  of  the  elections  just  concluded,  and  the  conduct  of 


108  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

"articHlar  parties  In  various  localities  during  those  elections ;  and,  generally,  the  state  am; 
i'roBpect*  of  the  Catholic  cause.  William  Gerald  Baggott,  of  Castle  Baggott,  was  caHed  to 
the  shuir. 

"Then  Mr  Baggott  had  concluded  Ms  sl-.cit,  address,  on  taking  thh  chai),  Randal  M'Don- 
tell,  Esq.,  after  some  remarks  in  praise  of  the  conduct  of  the  poorer  classes  of  the  electors 
during  the  late  contests,  introduced  the  resolutions  that  had  been  prepared. 

There  were  loud  calls  011  every  side  for  "  O'Connell,  0'C<  unell :"  and,  as  the  newspaper 
reports,  "after  a  short  hesitation,  the  Man  of  the  people  cime  forward  and  spoke  to  the 
following  effect  :"— 

I  could  not  be  an  Irishman,  if  I  did  nol  feel  grateful,  if  I  was 
not  overpowered  at  the  manner  in  which  yon  have  received  rne. 
Sorry,  sunk,  and  degraded  as  my  country  is,  I  still  glory  in  the 
title  of  Irishman.  (Bursts  of  applause.)  Even  to  contend  for 
Ireland's  liberties  is  a  delightful  duty  to  me.  (Enthusiastic 
plaudits.)  And  if  anything  is  wanting  in  addition  to  the  evi- 
dence of  such  humble  efforts  as  I  have  already  been  engaged  in, 
for  the  restoration  of  our  freedom  and  independence,  GO  evince 
my  devotion  to  the  cause  of  my  country,  I  do  swear,  by  the  kind- 
ness  you  have  shown  me  now— by  any  I  have  ever  experienced 
at  your  hands,  and  by  all  that  I  hold  valuable,  or  worthy  of 
desire,  that  my  life  is  at  her  service.  (Applause.)  And  may 
the  heavy  hand  of  adversity  fall  down  upon  me,  and  upon  all 
that  are  dearest  to  me — the  children  of  my  heart — if  ever  ] 
forsake  the  pure  pursuit  of  the  liberty  of  Ireland.  (Cheering 
lor  several  minutes.)  Gentlemen,  we  are  now  arrived  at  a  period, 
when  we  are  not  only  struggling  for  the  interest  of  our  own  reli- 
gion, but  for  the  liberty,  security,  and  peace  of  our  Protestant 
brethren,  both  here  and  in  England.  (Applause.) 

We  are  arrived  at  an  important  crisis,  when  a  serious  profes- 
sion has  been  made,  on  our  behalf,  by  the  English  parliament. 
This  is  the  first  time  that  a  declaration  such  as  that  to  which  I 
allude  was  ever  made  in  the  senate.  It  is  the  first  time  that 
the  voice  of  religious  liberty  was  really  heard  in  the  British 
•parliament — the  first  time  that  men  were  allowed  to  judge  for 
themselves,  and  to  obey  the  divine  precept,  of  treating  others  as 
they  themselves  would  wish  to  be  treated.  (Hear,  hear.) 

The  period  is  highly  important,  and  calls  for  all  the  watchful- 
ness, zeal,  and  assiduity  of  which  we  are  capable.  An  adminis- 
tration (formed,  heaven  knows  how  !)  have  given  us  a  specimen 
of  their  acting  a  neutral  part  towards  us.  They  have  promised 
that  they  shall  not  interpose  their  authority  to  interrupt  the 
good  intentions  of  any  man.  Some  of  them  have  even  pledged 
themselves  to  support  the  Catholic  question;  and,  probably 
half  of  them  have  ghen  some  earnest  of  their  improved  liberality. 


DAXIJSL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P. 


will,  however,  give  them  little  credit  for  sincerity  ;  I  believe 
they  would  not  even  pretend  to  lay  much  claim  tc  our  confidence 
—  they  have  too  much  modesty  to  expect  to  be  believed  by  us—- 
Daughter, and  cries  of  hear,  hear)—  we  have,  I  believe,  without 
pitying  much  attention  to  the  professions  of  the  Cabinet,  arrived 
at  a  most  important  crisis.  It  behoves  every  man  of  us  to  do 
his  duty,  and  to  take  care  that  we  shall  lose  none  of  the  impor- 
tant acquisitions  we  have  made.  This  very  administration  of 
whom  I  am  speaking,  notwithstanding  all"  their  fair  promises, 
ha\o  been  busily  employed  in  throwing  new  impediments  in  our 
way  since  last  session.  But  those  impediments  shall  do  us  little 
injury  if  we  do  our  duty.  They  certainly  are  our  natural  ene- 
mies—they hate  liberty—  they  have  an  inherent  abhorrence  to 
freedom,  and  their  hostility  to  us  is  particularly  embittered  by 
our  contempt  for  them  (loud  applause)  r  yes,  gentlemen,  such 
are  the  men  whom  you,  in  your  resolutions,  have  justly  termed 
"incompetent,"  and  <•  profligate"—  such  are  the  men  who  now' 
command  the  destinies  of  those  realms,  and,  probably  the  for- 
tunes of  Europe.  (Hear  Hear.) 

*     I  am  afraid,  gentlemen,  that  I  shall  take  up  too  much  of  vour 
time  if  I  advert  to  some  topics  that  are  crowding  upon  my  mind 
(Cries  of  no,  no,  go  on,  go  on.)     The  first  I  should  be  inclined 
to  allude  to  is,  an  address,  lately  published  by  a  real  friend  to 
religious  liberty,  and  printed  by  Mr.  Cobbett,  a  distinguished 
colleague  ot  his,  m  the  exposure  of  public  corruption—  I  mean 
Lord  Gochrane,  one  of  the  members  for  the  city  of  Westminster 
than  whom  no  man  deserves  better  of  every  real  admirer  of 
political  integrity  and  patriotism. 

This  distinguished  member  observes,  that  he  was  once  opposed 
to  the  Catholics,  because  he  disapproved  of  the  slavish  doctrines 
whirfi  prevail  «  in  the  Romish  Church."  It  is  some  consolation, 
gentlemen,  that  there  is  some  person  who  can  assure  ministers 
there  is  no  danger  in  granting  us  emancipation—  we  are  not  too 
fond  of  liberty.  (Laughter.)  But,  gentlemen,  see  the  consis- 
tency and  rationality  of  our  calumniators  !  At  one  time  thev  ' 
say  we  are  agitating  democrats,  crying  aloud  for  an  unwarrant- 
able portion  of  freedom  :  the  very  next  moment  they  turn 
round  and  tell  us,  that  we  have  a  marvellous  propensity  for 
slavery  !  (Loud  cries  of  hear,  hear.)  The  truth,  however,  is, 
that  their  accusations  are  false  in  both  instances  ;  we  do  not  «o 
to  excess  on  either  side  ;  we  are  partial  to  a  legitimate  and  weH- 
rnodelled  monarchy  in  an  hereditary  line,  and  we,  at  the  samr? 
time,  reverence  the  majesty  of  the  people.  \Vhile  we  bear  a 


1 1  0  bSLECT  SPEECHES  OF 

true  allegiance  to  the  British  constitution,  we  still  say,  that  life 
is  not  worth  enjoyment,  without  the  blessings  of  freedom. 
(Reiterated  applause.)  Lord  Cochrane  admits  that  he  is  con- 
verted from  his  original  antipathy  to  Catholics,  and  he  says  he 
i  i  now  ready  to  grant  them  all  the  immunities  he  himself  enjoys, 
if,  in  the  first  place,  they  accept  the  privileges  of  Englishmen, 
and  if  in  the  second,  they  renounce  thfc  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope. 
I  say$  we  are  most  anxious  to  obtain  the  privileges  of  English- 
men. Let  Lord  Cochrane  recollect  what  the  first  Irishman  that 
ever  was  born  said  at  No  wry. 

[Here  the  learned  gentleman  was  interrupted  for  sereru:  minutes  by  tlio  acclamations  uf 
the  assembly.] 

I  am  not  surprised— -continued  Mr.  O'Conuell.  when  silence 
*.vas  r gain  ^stored — I  am  not  surprised  that  you  should  feel  the 
most  ecstatic  emotions  of  the  Irish  heart,  when  I  but  allude  to 
the  name  of  John  Philpot  Curran.  (Renewed  cheering.)  It  re- 
eals  to  us  everything  that  is  dear  or  interesting  in  our  history 
— it  pronounces  everything  that  we  are  proud  to  live  with  in 
this  age,  and  everything  that  shall  l>e  estimable  in  the  minds  of 
posterity.  (Loud  applause.)  I  know  the  name  of  John  Philpot 
Curran  has  conducted  you  back  involuntarily  to  that  most  awful 
era  in  our  annals,  when  we  were  deprived  of  our  independence, 
and  metamorphosed  into  the  colony  of  a  people,  who  were  nor, 
and  who  are  not,  in  the  least,  worthy  of  being  our  MASTERS. 
But,  my  friends,  if  we  are  true  to  ourselves — if  Protestants  and 
Catholics  be  alive  to  their  commonest  and  most  intimate  inte- 
rest, we  may,  profiting  among  other  aids,  by  the  assistance  of 
this  very  idol  of  ours,  to  whom  you  have  just  paid  your  affection- 
ate tribute — we  may,  I  say,  become  a  kingdom  once  morel 
(Thunders  of  applause.) 

1  had  adverted  to  what  mv  most  venerated  friend,  John  Phil- 
pot  Curran,  said  at  Newry.  I  would  take  leave  to  remind  Lord 
Cochrane  of  it,  assuming  it  to  be  the  expression  of  Catholic  fecl- 
iug.  The  Irish  Cicero  there  observed,  that  Englishmen  love  the 
privilege  of  being  governed  by  Englishmen.  I  would  tell  my 
Lord  Cochrane,  that  Irishmen  fully  as  highly  value  the  privilege 
of  being  governed  by  Irishmen.  (Long-continued  applause.) 

The  second  proviso  of  Lord  Cochrane  is  one  merely  of  a  pole- 
mical description,     lie  wishes  to  destroy  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Pope.     J  would  ask  of  him  in  the  name  of  Christian  charity,  ha 
be  not  our  solemn  oaths  to  satisfy  him  1  (Hear,  hear,  hear.)    We 
ore  degraded,  excluded,  and  insulted,  because  we  regard  the  ob- 


DANIEL  O'CON.VELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  Ill 

ligatioii  of  an  oatli — because,  for  any  favour,  earthly  power  can 
bestow,  we  would  not  violate  our  consciences  ;  and  still,  though 
this  fact  is  clear  and  patent  before  the  world,  we  are  insulted,  by 
being  told  that  our  oaths  are  not  a  sufficient  security  for  our  al- 
legiance !  It  is  most  amazing  how  men  will  presume  to  play 
with  our  feelings.  We  show  them  that  we  would  be  willingl} 
bondsmen  to  all  eternity,  sooner  than  violate  our  oaths ;  ye1* 
they  demand,  as  a  security,  a  breach  of  the  precepts  of  our  reli- 
gion— not  thinking  even  an  oath  from  such  people  sufficient. 
^Hear,  hear.)  In  the  course  of  my  professional  pursuits,  I  have 
oeen  one  hundred  times  compelled  to  swear  that  I  did  not  think 
it  lawful  to  commit  murder.  (A  laugh.)  You  laugh,  gentlemen, 
but  what  I  tell  you  is  not  a  greater  absurdity  than  Lord 
Cochrane's  proposed  pledge.  But  see  how  the  imputation  which 
euch  men  would  throw  upon  us,  would  operate  as  applied  to  an 
individual  in  private  life.  They  demand  a  pledge  of  us,  saying, 
by  implication,  that  we  do  not  value  an  oath.  Why,  if  any  man 
in  the  community  had  the  audacity  to  tell  me  directly  that  I  did 
not  value  an  oath,  either  he  or  I  should  not  long  survive  such  a 
flagrant  insult.  But  we  are  told  we  have  predilections — we  do 
not  deny  the  charge.  As  for  my  part,  I  do  not  value  the  man 
who  has  not  his  predilections  and  resentments ;  but  at  the  same 
time,  Lord  Cochrane  may  be  as  much  afraid  of  our  predilections 
.for  the  grand  lama  of  Tartary,  as  for  the  Pope  of  Home.  (Hear, 
hear.) 

Those  imputations  upon  our  value  for  an  oath  evince  only  the 
miserable  ignorance  of  our  opponents,  with  regard  to  our  prin- 
ciples and  our  aniforrn  conduct.  They  bring  to  my  recollection, 
again,  the  words  of  the  great  Curran  at  Newry,  and  serve  to  con- 
vince me  still  more  of  their  entire  justice,  when  he  said  "  that 
they  are  unfit  to  rule  us,  making  laws,  like  boots  and  shoes  for 
exportation,  to  fit  us  as  they  may."  (Long-continued  applause.) 

I  have  taken  up  much  of  your  time,  gentlemen,  but  I  confess 
I  am  anxious  that  the  people  of  England  should  know  us.  If 
Lord  Cochrane  was  here,  I  do  not  think  that  we  could  fail  to  con- 
vince him  of  the  mistakes  he  has  thllen  into.  We  are  no  de- 
luders  or  traitors — we  do  not  make  promises  to  violate  them. 
Th  ere  is  a  long  tribe  of  wretches  who  accuse  us  of  treachery ;  if 
they,  indeed,  revived  their  slanders,  they  should  not  obtain  a  re- 
ply. This  junta  constitutes  the  worst  and  vilest  herd  of  the 
community.  Whenever  the  invader  touches  our  shores  they 
will  be  the  first  to  join  him ;  while  we,  the  insidious  and  agitat- 
ing demagogues,  are  ever  most  ready  to  oppose  him.  And  why 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


should  they  not  sell  their  coun+r  -j—surely^  they  sell  it  to  the 
minister.  They  may  as  well  sell  it  to  Bonaparte  as  to  Lord 
Castlereagh,  if  they  be  proportionately  rewarded.  (Hear,  hear. 
hear.)  This  tribe,  I  say  once  more,  accused  us  of  an  insensibi- 
lity to  moral  obligation.  I  would  not  condescend  to  answer 
them  ;  but  Lord  Cochnr  deserves  a  reply  ;  he  is  a  friend  to 
civil  liberty  —  a  man  whose  bravery  in  the  battles  of  his  country 
is  not  mere  distinguished  than  his  integrity  in  the  senate  ;  it  is 
a  useful  occupation  of  time,  to  labour  to  disabuse  his  mind  of 
prejudices  adopted,  doubtless,  without  consideration  ;  his  charges 
merit  an  answer,  and  if  he  were  here  they  would,  I  trust  receive 
a  full  and  satisfactory  answer. 

But,  turning  from  the  events  and  scenes  that  are  taking  place 
at  the  other  side  of  the  water,  and  contemplating  what  is  going 
on  in  this  country,  let  us  examine  what  there  is  to  interest  us. 
The  elections  are  in  some  places  even  still  going  forward.  I  am 
told  the  Catholics  have  considerably  lost  by  the  appeal  to  the 
people.  (Hear,  hear.)  In  one  place  they  have  lost,  and  lost  to 
an  incalculable  amount,  indeed.  Christopher  Hely  Hutchinson 
has  lost  his  election  in  Cork  !  (Cries  of  shame,  shame,  and  hear.) 
I  the  more  regret  this  misfortune,  because  it  was  not  the  efforts 
of  a  profligate  minister  that  rejected  him  —  not  the  anger  that 
has  followed  his  family,  ever  since  one  of  them,  with  a  patriotic 
and  Koman-like  resolution,  drew  the  veil  from  the  infamy  that 
has  kept  you  in  slavery  —  from  that  nauseous  luxury  of  enjoyment, 
in  which  the  wine-bearer's  voice  is  decisive,  when  ae  pronounces 
that  you  shall  be  still  kept  in  bondage.  (Applause.)  He  failed 
—  Hely  Hutchinson  failed  —  not  because  the  attendants  at  the 
Castle  were  despatched  to  uphold  his  opponents  —  not  because 
DUT  worthy  Viceroy  expended  any  of  his  private  property  in  op- 
position to  him  —  the  profits  of  the  coal  tax  in  London,  or  the 
£30,000  he  is  allowed  as  a  slave.  Christopher  Hely  Hutchinson 
•s  out  of  parliament,  not  because  he  is  not  a  friend  to  the  liber- 
ties of  mankind,  an  ornament  to  his  country,  a  credit  to  human 
honour  and  integrity,  but  he  has  failed  because  of  the  apathy  of 
Catholics  !  (Loud  cries  of  shame,  and  hear,  hear.) 
^  The  negligence  —  the  wicked  and  pernicious  negligence  of 
Catholics  did  against  him  what  neither  the  frowns  nor  smiles  of 
administration  —  the  favour  nor  the  anger  of  the  Court,  couid  do. 
Catholics  neglected  to  register  their  votes  in  time,  and  thus  they 
inflicted  upon  our  cause,  one  of  the  greatest  and  heaviest  calami- 
ties that  could  befal  us.  (Hear,  hear.)  With  what  contempt  do 
they  now  look  upou  themselves  !  Do  they  not  despise  themselves 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  113 

and  their  criminal  negligence  But  let  not  the  lesson  oe  lost- 
let  it  be  proclaimed  and  spread  as  widely  about  as  intelligence 
can  reach.  Let  every  man  who  hears  me  bear  it  strongly  upon 
/lis  mind,  and  communicate  to  his  friends,  that  the  neglect  of  the 
Catholics  of  Cork,  in  registering  their  votes,  was  the  sole  cause 
of  our  losing  the  services  of  an  admirable  Irishman.  (Loud 
plaudits.) 

With  the  single  exception  of  Cork  the  elections  have  been  de- 
cidedly in  favour  of  us.  In  Gal  way,  indeed,  there  is  not  much 
tQ  applaud.  At  the  head  of  the  poll  is  Mr.  James  Daly,  a  ne- 
phew to  Mr.  Justice  Daly,  who  sits  on  the  bench,  because  of 
having  voted  for  the  Union.  (Hear,  hear.)  The  honest,  manly, 
and  incorruptible  Denis  Bowes  Daly  ought  to  have  been  returned 
without  expense,  and  ought  to  have  been  in  the  place  of  the  other 
gentleman.  This  upright  Irishman  has  sat  for  thirty-six  years 
in  parliament,  without  ever  giving  a  vote  against  thd  interests 
of  his  country ;  and  we  are  told  that  there  shall  be  a  dubious 
contention  between  this  well-tried  patriot  and  a  Mr.  Eyre,  a  man 
who  never  did  anything,  but  who  tells  us  that  he  will  do  some- 
thing. Meantime,  the  judge's  nephew  will  be  returned  in  spite 
of  fate.  (Hear,  hear,  and  cries  of  shame.)  This  instance  of  in- 
gratitude is  truly  lamentable,  and  most  discreditable  to  those 
who  are  its  authors ;  and  whilst  other  counties  are  exhibiting 
the  most  cheering  proofs  of  true  public  spirit,  this  falling  off  in 
Gal  way  should  be  proclaimed  to  the  reprehension  of  the  world, 
(Hear,  hear.) 

In  Tipperary,  General  Mathew  and  Mr.  Prittie  are  at  the  head 
of  the  poll.  (Loud  cheering.)  All  the  efforts  of  Bagwell — all 
that  private  friendship  and  public  corruption  could  effect — all 
that  the  influence  of  the  Court  could  avail — all  that  favour, 
traced  to  the  foot  of  the  Throne,  could  perform,  were  unavailing. 
Catholics  and  Protestants  stood  and  acted  firmly  together,  and 
Mathew  and  Prittie  were  triumphant.  (Loud  cheers.) 

Nearer  home,  however,  we  have  not  so  pleasing  a  prospect  of 
popular  success.  Mr.  Clements,  a  decided  enemy  of  yours,  is 
in  ;  and  Mr.  White,  whom  you  have  so  justly  thankod  and  ap- 
plauded this  day,  is  out ;  but  I  trust  there  is  still  public  spirit 
enough  to  return  him,  and  add  him  to  the  list  of  your  friends. 

In  Wexford  you  have  got  too  additional  advocates. 

In  Downpatrick,  even  John  Wilson  Croker  of  the  admiralty, 
has,  to  use  a  northern  phrase,  been  kicked  out.  (Laughter  and 
cheers.)  I  remember  about  six  years  ago,  when  this  gentleman 
and  I  were  going  circuit  together,  his  Protestantism  did  not  keep 


U4  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

my  Popery  much  in  the  back  ground,  (Laughter  and  cheers.)  If, 
however,  he  were  not  a  Protestant,  I  verily  believe  he  would  have 
oeen  doomed  to  drudge  all  his  life  at  the  bar,  though  he  has  been, 
since  that  time,  in  parliament,  and  is  now  rewarded  with  a  situa- 
tion in  the  admiralty. 

In  Drogheda  we  have  got  Meade  Ogle,  and  have  got  rid  of 
Foster.  (Hear,  hear.) 

But,  surely,  in  Trinity  College,  we  have  not  only  been  eman- 
cipated from  another  Foster,  but  we  have  had  »n  accession  to 
our  strength,  in  that  credit  to  Ireland,  that  ornament  to  the  bar, 
and  that  honour  to  human  intelligence,  William  Conyngham 
Plunkett.  (Loud  applause.) 

I  need  say  little  of  Dublin,  the  corporation  are  involved  in 
debt,  and  Jack  Gifiurd,  the  police  magistrates,  and  Billy  M'  Auley, 
could  not  muster  votes  enough  to  get  up  any  man  in  opposition 
to  Mr.  Shaw,  whose  great  crime  it  is  to  have  acted  honestly  and 
conscientiously.  The  "felonious  rabUe"  of  the  corporation,  if 
I  may  use  the  delicate  expression  of  one  of  its  members,  had 
not  courage  to  produce  one  person  to  oppose  Henry  Grattan, 
who  "  watched  Ireland's  independence  in  its  cradle,  and  followed 
io  to  its  tomb  !" 

I  have  not  called-  your  recollection  to  the  county  of  Dublin, 
where  Mr.  Hamilton,  who  had  the  credit  of  relinquishing  his 
prejudices  to  you,  was  returned  without  opposition,  because  he 
discharged  the  trust  you  reposed  in  him  faithfully  and  honour- 
ably ;  and  where  that  truly  excellent  Irishman,  Colonel  Talbot, 
was  returned  also  without  opposition.  (Here  there  were  the 
most  enthusiastic  acclamations  which  lasted  for  several  minutes.) 
Gentlemen,  I  am  sorry  that  Colonel  Talbot  is  present,  because 
I  am  thus  restrained  from  saying  what  my  heart  dictates,  and 
his  merit  demands.  He  speaks,  acts,  and  thinks  like  a  true  and 
genuine  Irishman.  Register  your  votes,  and  let  him  be  ever 
sent  to  watch  your  interests  as  he  has  been  at  this  election — 
namely,  without  the  vexation  of  any  opposition.  (Loud  ap- 
plause.) 

Such  is  the  state  of  the  elections — rsuch  is  the  state  of  your 
•ause.  Is  it  not  demonstrative,  that  if  you  had  a  Protestant 
parliament  in  Ireland,  they  would  emancipate  you  ? 

[The  manner  in  which  this  sentence  was  received  by  Mr.  O'Connell's  auditory  Is  described 
as  having  been  enthusiastic  almost  beyond  any  fonnar  experience.  TUP  applause  was 
UKen  up  again  and  again,  for  many  minutes,  with  unabated,  and  almost  increasing 
lOanath,  and  it  was  not  for  a  long  time  that  he  was  suffered  to  proceed  j 

In  the  county  of  Clare,  I  forgot  to  say,  the  Chancellor  of  the 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.;  M  P  115 

Exchequer  is  thrown  out.  The  Catholics  of  this  county  have 
covered  themselves  with  eternal  honour.  All  the  money  of  the 
treasury  vras  without  influence  to  seduce  them  from  their  duty. 
Eelinquisliing,  as  was  the  case  with  numbers  of  them,  the  closest 
ties  of  intimacy,  friendship,  and  kindred,  they  nobly  told  the 
Chancellor  that  they  had  every  good  wish  for  his  interest,  but 
that  their  country  had  the  first  claim  upon  them  and  upon  their 
votes.  (The  loudest  applause.) 

The  Ponsonby  family  have  succeeded  in  the  north.  If  the 
north  was  disgraced  by  the  return  of  a  Yarmouth  or  a  Castle- 
reagh, there  is  sufficient  consolation  in  the  circumstance  I  have 
just  mentioned,  to  make  us  well  pleased  with  our  liberal  Pro- 
testant brethren,  in  that  portion  of  Ireland.  In  speaking  of 
Lord  Castlereagh,  I  do  not  know  how  to  select  words  to  ade- 
quately express  my  feelings.  I  should  become  an  old  man  in 
foaming  out  the  torrent  of  hatred  and  indignation  with  which 
my  bosom  teems.  He  is  not  here  at  the  present  moment ;  but 
I  do  not  feel  myself  the  less  authorized  to  speak  of  him  as 
an  honest  and  injured  Irishman  should  speak  ;  because  there  are 
people  here,  I  am  well  persuaded,  to  convey  to  him  the  language 
I  use.  Mr.  Wcllesley  Pole  boasted  of  his  having  people  behind 
the  curtain  at  every  Catholic  meeting.  His  successors,  I  sup- 
pose, have  imitated  his  wisdom  ;  and  as  there  is,  therefore,  some 
spy,  in  all  probability,  lurking  to  apprise  Lord  Castlereagh  of 
what  goes  forward,  I  have  not  restrained  myself.  Let  the  man 
who  buried  thousands  of  our  brave  troops  in  the  marshes  of 
Walcheren,  and  destroyed  the  springs  of  his  country's  liberty, 
know  the  feelings  which  are  experienced  by  an  Irishman,  when 
his  name  is  mentioned.  (Loud  applause.) 

To  counterbalance  the  gloom  that  is  thrown  over  the  mind 
when  the  success  of  an  enemy  to  the  cause  of  Ireland  is  contem- 
plated, I  might  exhibit  the  prospects  that  %re  presented  by  the 
residence  of  the  young  Duke  of  Leinster  amongst  us.  (Loud 
acclamations.)  Inheriting  such  a  load  of  the  virtues  of  his 
ancestry,  his  promises  are  great.  Indeed  there  is  something  in 
the  name  of  Fitzgerald  to  cherish  and  console  Ireland  under  th. 
heaviest  afflictions.  (Loud  applause.)  Let  us  hope  that  tho^e 
virtues  only  want  an  opportunity  of  action  to  prove  advan- 
tageous to  the  empire..  Let  us  hope  that  he  is  at  this  moment  at 
the  meeting  in  Kildare,  commencing  a  career  of  glory  to  himself 
and  usefulness  to  Ireland.  (Cheering.) 

I  must  now  advert  to  the  disgraceful  efforts  that  have  been 
made  in  the  counties  of  Sligo,  Leitrim,  Koscommou,  and  Long- 


116  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


,  by  a  disgraceful  no-  Popery  faction,  to  agitate  and  disturb 
the  public  peace.  To  those,  however,  is  to  be  opposed  that  for- 
midable and  imposing  document,  the  Protestant  petition,  signed 
by  everything  of  wealth,  respectability  or  talent  that  was  to  be 
found  throughout  the  country.  As  to  the  no-  Popery  agitators. 
<ve  have  leading  them  a  Mr.  Steward  Corry,  whoever  he  may 
be  —  a  Mr.  Owen  Wynne,  who  is  said  to  be  a  great  encourager  of 
fat  pigs.  (Much  laughter.)  He  is  also,  however,  brother  to 
that  important  dignitary,  the  caterer-general  of  the  Castle.  Then 
we  have  a  Mr.  Counsellor  Webber,  who  was  an  assistant-barris- 
ter, or,  in  the  words  of  the  great  Flood,  who  had  availed  him- 
self of  the  "  refuge  for  tried  incapacity."  In  one  county  an 
obscure  clergyman  was  the  author  of  a  pompous  string  of  anti- 
Catholic  resolutions. 

But  the  hypocritical  affectation  of  liberality  in  those  gentlemen 
was  worst  of  all  !  (Hear,  hear.)  Catholics  were  their  loving 
brothers  !  —  everything  that  was  sweet  and  delightful  and  sub- 
lime and  affectionate  !  !  (Laughter.)  They  love  us  —  oh  how 
dearly  !—  but  they  desire  us  to  continue  slaves  !  They  desire  us 
to  fight  for  them  and  to  pay  the  taxes  :  —  but  they  keep  the  re- 
wards to  themselves  ! 

Mr.  O'Connell  then  proceeded,  at  some  length,  to  descant  upon 
the  necessity  of  agreement  and  unanimity  of  sentiment  among 
all  classes  at  the  awful  crisis  now  impending.  He  said  it  would 
be  much  wiser  for  ministers,  at  this  juncture,  to  enter  into  a 
treaty  of  amity  with  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  than  to  lavish  a 
subsidy  of  £80,000  upon  Bernadotte  —  than  to  build  hopes  upon 
fhe  insurrection  in  Paris  —  form  alliances  with  a  chieftain  in 
South  America  —  or  conclude  arrangements  with  the  Dey  of 
Algiers  ;  and  concluded  amid  loud  acclamations. 


JOHN  PHILPOT  CURRAN. 

ITPOK  the  14th  of  November,  1812,  Mr.  O'Connell  was  about  to  move  that  a  dinner  should 
oe  given  by  the  Catholics  to  their  Protestant  supporters,  when  Mr.  Lawless  introduced  a 
vote  of  censure  on  certain  member*  of  the  Board,  wh»  had  acted  against  tho  celebrated 
John  Philpot  Curran,  at  his  then  recent  contest  for  the  borough  of  Newry. 
After  some  otiier  gentlemen  had  spoken,  Mr.  O'Connell  rose  and  said  :— 

He  had  very  little  to  offer  on  the  present  occasion.  He  had 
no  doubt,  and  he  believed  the  Board  had  no  doubt,  of  the  pro- 
priety of  inflicting  their  great  and  heavy  punishment  of  their 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  117 

censure  on  men  who  had  yielded  to  the  basest  motives  of  betray- 
ing their  country.  It  was  not  only  the  duty  of  every  man  who 
gave  his  vote,  to  pledge  the  candidate,  not  only  to  the  support 
of  Catholic  Emancipation,  but  also  to  the  exertion  of  every  means 
in  his  power  to  oppose  an  incompetent  administration,  and  to 
support  the  rights  of  the  country.  But  he  was  sure  that  a  meet- 
ing of  Irishmen— of  Catholics,  and  of  gentlemen,  would  not  con- 
found the  base  and  despicable  betrayer  of  his  native  land,  the 
shameless  deserter  of  the  tried  friends  of  the  cause,  and  the  man 
who  had  acted  from  an  impulse  the  most  honourable  to  any  man, 
that  of  redeeming  plighted  faith. 

You  seem  to  find  it  difficult  to  draw  the  discriminating  line 
yourself;  and  how  much  more  so  will  it  be  for  the  public.  If 
an  indiscriminate  stigma  of  this  nature  were  to  be  sent  abroad, 
it  would  be  easily  converted  into  the  instrument  of  private  ma- 
hgnity.  This  air-drawn  dagger  which  you  sent  forth  to  the 
\vorld  would  be  soon  presented  to  the  breasts  of,  perhaps,  meri- 
torious individuals,  to  gratify  the  purposes  of  malice  and  revenge. 
It  would  be  made  the  weapon  for  avenging  injuries  committed, 
or  supposed  to  be  committed,  upon  individuals  in  private  life, 
and  thus,  instead  of  carrying  the  weight  and  dignity  of  a  censure 
pronounced  by  a  great  body  after  difficult  evidence  of  its  justice, 
it  would  dwindle  into  the  petty,  but  mischievous  character  of  a 
tool,  which  every  ill-minded  man  might  seize  upon  to  satisfy  bin 
private  resentments. 

It  was  true  there  had  been  room  for  censure.  But  the  Board 
should,  at  least,  give  those  persons  an  opportunity  of  satisfying 
themselves  before  it  inflicted  punishment  upon  them ;  it  should 
hear  before  it  decided.  The  censure  involved  the  most  serious 
consideration.  It  was  one  which  would  not  only  affect  the  indi- 
vidual, but  would  be  handed  down  to  the  latest  posterity.  It 
should,  therefore,  be  resolved  upon  with  the  greatest  and  most 
mature  deliberation  ;  not  when  the  assembly  was  heated  by  the 
remembrance  of  recent  election  contests,  heated  by  a  warm  and 
protracted  discussion,  and  doubly  excited  by  description  of  the 
transcendant  merits  of  John  Philpot  Curran — merits  which  it  is 
impossible  to  do  justice  to.  He  would  ask  whether  such  was:a 
moment  to  pass  a  grave  and  solemn  censure,  and  to  pasn  it  in  such 
ti  form  that  it  may  be  applied  to  the  very  last  man  in  the  com- 
munity to  whom  the  Board  would  wish  to  extend  it — a  man  who 
has  ever  been  the  most  steadfast  supporter  of  the  cause,  and  who 
would  freely  lay  down  his  life  for  it.  It  may  be  said  he  deserves 
H;  if  so,  inflict  it;  but  do  it  manfully,  openly,  honourably.  Let 


i.18  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

it  not  "be  said  that  you  decided  without  trying — that  a  tribunal  ot 
Irisnmen  would  even  risk  the  charge  of  visiting  an  Irishman  with 
injustice.  It  would  be  cowardly  to  rob  a  man  of  his  character  iri 
the  dark.  Those  men  may  have  cases  to  make  ;  they  should  be 
permitted  to  make  them. 

With  respect  to  the  political  principle,  he  conceived  the  Board 
possessed  the  power.  It  would  be  impossible  for  many  reasons^ 
for  an  aggregate  meeting  to  inflict  the  censure  ;  and  as  to  send- 
ing members  back  to  the  counties,  that  would  be  recognising  the 
principle  of  representation,  which  they  denied  in  the  most  posi- 
tive manner.  The  members  of  the  Board  were  not  representa- 
tives, but  they  contained  within  them  the  mere  and  unbought 
feeling  of  Irishmen,  and  to  that  feeling  he  would  appeal  for  jus- 
tice to  the  character  of  a  gentleman.  You  are  now  acting  upon 
ex  post  facto  law.  It  is  possible  that  reasons  may  have  existed 
for  this  conduct;  and  sure  you  are  not  to  put  those  persons  to  the 
bar  of  the  Irish  people,  without  hearing  them.  He  would  pro- 
pose an  adjournment  for  la  fortnight.  If  gentlemen  were  right 
in  adopting  the  censure  this  evening,  they  would  be  equally  so 
this  day  fortnight,  and  it  would  come  with  double  weight  when 
resolved  upon  coolly,  without  being  inflicted  by  a  panegyric  on 
the  merits  of  Curran,  of  Hutchinson,  of  Mathew.  or  of  another, 
whom  Mr.  Lawless  forgot,  Prittie.  The  Board,  by  passing  the 
present  resolution,  will  assist  to. shield  the  real  delinquent,  by 
laying  part  of  the  blame  upon  worthy  men.  He  concluded  by 
moving  an  adjournment,  which  was  seconded  by  Nicholas  Mahon ; 
and,  after  a  short  additional  discussion,  carried,  on  a  division,  by 
a  large  majority. 

On  Saturday,  the  28th  instant,  the  discussion  was  again  revived,  in  a  densely  crowdec 
meeting  of  the  Board.  Mr.  O'Connell  called  the  attention  of  the  Board  to  the  unwarranfr 
:Uile  exercise  of  authority  by  certain  individuals,  who  had  taken  upon  themselves  to  issm 
?ummonses  to  attend  the  adjourned  debate  on  Mr.  Lawless's  motion.  He  also  proposed  a 
further  adjournment  until  the  following  Monday,  to  some  larger  place  of  meeting,  where 
there  would  be  room  for  the  immense  crowds  which  had  that  day  assembled,  blocking  up 
the  passages,  and  crowding  evea  the  street  below.  It  was,  however,  determined  to  remain 
A'hcie  they  were ;  and  the  debate  proceeded  on  .Mr.  Lawless's  motion,  put  in  the  fallowing 
shape  : — 

"  That  such  persons  as  had  deserted  the  tried  friends  of  the  Catholics 
at  the  last  general  election,  were  no  longer  deserving  of  their  confi- 
dence." 

After  several  very  cvnimated  speeches  pro  and  cow,  M.  O'Gorman  (Nicholas  Puicell) 
moved,  by  way  of  amendment,  to  add  a  sentence,  approving  the  e:qOiiiiation$  offered  by 
ilr  Lalcr.  of  Cranagh,  and  some  of  the  others  originally  inculpated. 

Mr.  O'Connell  supported  the  amendment,  but  not  as  an  addi- 
tion to  Mr.  Lawless's  motion*  The  original  resolution  he  consi 


DANIEL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  119 

dered  to  be  one  of  t)  .e  most  unjust,  indiscreet,  and  inconsistent 
that  could  possibly  have  been  conceived.  It  would  affect  any 
man  and  every  man.  It  would  sacrifice  men  who  bad  ever 
evinced  the  utmost  anxiety  and  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  the 
Catholic  cause.  It  would  go  to  divide  the  body,  and  interrupt 
that  harmony  which  was  acknowledged  upon  all  hands  to  be  of 
the  most  vital  importance.  It  would  carry  the  broad  inconsis- 
tency upon  the  face  of  it,  of  censuring  persons  who  at  the  same 
time  were  held  to  have  satisfied  public  opinion. 

One  gentleman  (Mr.  O'Gorman)  had  told  them  he  supported 
it  on  the  grounds  of  its  having  elicited  the  satisfactory  explana- 
tion which  they  had  that  day  heard.  But,  surely,  it  was  unfair, 
after  acknowledging  these  vindications  to  be  so  entirely  full  and 
complete,  to  send  out  to  the  world  a  vague  and  general  ccninii  e 
that  might  oe  turned  against  the  best  men  in  the  community. 

Another  gentleman  (Mr.  Costigin)  had  said,  "let  those  the 
cap  fit  wear  it  ;**  but  it  was  not  always  the  person  whom  the  cap 
t>est  fitted  that  it  was  placed  upon  by  the  public.  It  seldon. 
happened  that  the  individual  whom  the  cloak  of  infamy  best 
suited  would  of  himself  put  it  on.  Such  a  person  was  generally 
tar  more  disposed  to  throw  it  over  the  shoulders  of  *,he  innocent, 
and  array  himself  in  the  garb  of  hypocrisy,  and  so  elude  the  dis- 
grace which  he  was  so  conscious  of  meriting.  It  was,  to  borrow 
an  illustration  from  scenes  of  horror  that  had  been  ilhulod  to,  a 
pitch-cap  of  torture,  that  th&y  were  about  to  force  down  upon 
the  heads  of  unoffending  men,  and  not  a  well-earned  infliction 
upon  real  and  bhamefui  delinquency. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  that  Board  was  the  organ,  as 
it  were,  of  the  Catholic  people.  Being  so,  its  denunciations  came 
to  be  considered,  and  were,  in  effect,  the  denunciations  of  that 
people.  The  Catholic  Board  should  not  forget  those  men  whose 
exertions,  whose  influence,  and  whose  active  patriotism  ha& 
worked  up  the  cause  to  its  present  high  position  and  momen- 
tous importance.  It  was  no  small  triumph  to  observe  gentle- 
men of  the  first  rank  and  consideration  in  the  country  coming 
forward  to  vindicate  themselves  to  that  Board.  He  well  recol- 
lected a  time,  when  men,  possessed  of  their  fortune,  station,  and 
high-  respectability,  cared  nothing  for  any  recolutiong  that  might 
be  passed  by  meetings  in  Dublin.  The  Catholic  Board,  he  woul^ 
again  beg  of  gentlemen  to  recollect,  had  now  arrived  at  such  a 
pitch  of  influence  and  importance,  that  their  frown  was  sufficient 
to  cast  dismay  around  any  man  they  attacked  ;  but  it  behoved 
them  to  prove  that  the  moderation  and  justice  with  which  they 


120  SELECT  SPEECHES  0? 

exercised  that  power  was  commensurate  with  its  magnitude. 
Whatever  might  be  the  decision  of  that  day,  he  would  take  upon 
himself  to  assert,  that  no  Catholic  in  the  land  would  venture  to 
vote  again  in  a  manner  that  could  subject  him  to  their  displea- 
sure. It  was  evident  how  unjust^  the  resolution  might  operate, 
from  the  statement  which  a  highly-respectable  gentleman  (Mr. 
Burke)  thought  it  necessary  to  make  a  short  time  before  ;  ami 
he  begged  leave  to  assure  that  gentleman,  that  if  he  had  not 
been  present  to  advocate  his  cause  in  person,  no  efforts  of  his 
(Mr.  O'Connell)  should  have  been  wanted  to  ensure  the  justice 
vvhich  was  his  desert. 

He  thought  individual  votes  of  censure,  on  every  account, 
highly  reprehensible,  and  certain  to  be  attended  with  the  very 
worst  consequences.  It  would  be  nothing  less  than  transform- 
ing the  Catholic  Board — which  possessed  the  dear,  invaluable, 
unbought  confidence  of  the  Irish  people — into  a  terrible  inquisi- 
tion. If  such  a  transformation  were  to  take  place — if  an  assem- 
bly, instituted  for  the  advancement  of  constitutional  freedom, 
assumed  to  itself  such  inquisitorial  privileges,  there  was  an  end 
at  once  to  the  security  of  the  best  men.  No  one,  however  con- 
scious of  his  own  innocence — however  anxious  to  do  his  duty  to 
his  country  without  a  thought  of  personal  advahtage  to  himself, 
could  feel  or  co*uld  be  safe.  He  claimed  for  himself  sincerity  at 
least ;  and  he  was  not  conscious  of  ever  having  acted  otherwise 
than  as  he  sincerely  believed  his  duty  to  his  country  required  : 
yet  if  this  system  were  to  be  established,  he  knew  not  how  soon 
he  might  be  unjustly  and  summarily  condemned.  Should  a  fac- 
tion who  could  muster  twenty  or  twenty-five  votes  have  it  in 
their  power  to  act  in  this  manner,  he  knew  not  how  sooii  they 
might  come  forward  and  say,  "  Daniel  O'Connell  does  not  de- 
serve the  confidence  of  the  Catholic  people." 

He  prayed  the  Board  to  act  with  the  dispassionate  candour 
becoming  them  as  a  great,  deliberative  assembly;  and  concluded 
by  supporting  the  amendment,  in  so  far  as  it  expressed  approval 
of  the  explanations  that  day  offered,  and  confidence  in  the  gentle 
men  who  had  made  them. 

However  the  efforts  to  which  Mr.  O'Connell  alluded  twice  in  the  foregoing  speech  irar 
successful.  The  room  had  Leer,  packed  in  favour  of  the  vote  of  censure;  and,  after  tw» 
divisions — "  one  upon  the  amendment  of  approval,  and  the  other  on  a  subsequent  amenl 
ment  to  adjourn— the  censuring  vote  was  carried." 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P 


TAAFFE  a.  CHIEF  JUSTICE  OF  QUEEN'S  BENCH. 

THE  case  of  Taaffe  and  others  against  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Quean's  Bench,  came  now, 
November,  1812,  again  before  the  courts,  after  successive  adjournments  from  the  preceding 
terms. 

GUI-  concern  is  not  with  a  detailed  history  of  it?  progress ;  and  we  shall  therefore  give, 
without  further  preface,  Mr.  O'Connell'a  speech  in  this  case,  Friday,  November  13, 1812,  m 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 

The  following  is  the  report  of  the  Freeman's  Journal,  in  its  number  of  Saturday  Novem- 
ber 14  :— 

"Mr.  O'Cuimell  appeared  in  court  this  day  to  make  his  reply  to  the  arguments  of  M-. 
Ponnefather,  as  delivered  on  Tuesday  last.  The  court  was  excessively  crowded,  and  it 
may  with  truth  be  said,  that  no  person  who  caiue  for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  a  display  of 
loren.sic  powers,  went  away  disappointed. 

My  lords  (said  Mr.  O'Connell),  I  am  highly  sensible  of  the  in- 
lulgence  I  have  received  from  the  Court  on  the  present  occasion. 
I  feel  no  small  regret  at  having  consumed  any  portion  of  your 
lordship's  time,  but  I  shall  be  as  brief  as  possible,  while  I  en- 
deavour, in  discharging  the  only  duty  that  now  remains  to  me, 
to  reply  to  the  arguments  of  the  gentlemen  on  the  opposite  skle. 
And,  my  lords,  in  discharging  this  duty,  I  shall  avoid  imitating 
the  example  set  me  on  the  last  day  by  one  of  these  gentlemen, 
and  (if  I  do  not  err)  by  the  other  on  a  former  day,  in  travelling 
out  of  the  direct  course  which  the  question  before  the  Court  pre- 
scribes. I  shall  leave  unnoticed  what  has  been  called  the  "whim- 
sicality," of  introducing  politics  upon  an  occasion  like  the  present, 
and  confine  myself  to  a  mere  question  of  law. 

iiut  though  Mr.  Pennefather,  in  describing  the  nature  of  the 
present  action,  takes  a  fancy  to  quoting  one  of  the  law  books, 
ind  calling  it  "  a  bold  attempt  on  the  government  of  the  coun- 
try ;"  yet,  in  explaining  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  law  of  the  lam} 
i  n  the  case,  I  will  not,  even  though  I  exclude  political  reflections, 
f  »r  a  moment  persuade  myself  that  I  ought  not  to  speak  my  sen- 
t?  merits  and  those  of  my  colleagues  upon  it,  with  the  most  unre- 
strained and  unembarrassed  freedom.  The  question  involves  great 
constitutional  principles.  It  does  not  depend  upon  mere  tech- 
nical rules  or  technical  reasonings,  but  must  be  decided  upon 
consideration  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  personal  liberty  in  this 
'Oiuitry,  and  the  sense  judges  have  of  the  rights  of  the  subject, 
SLud  the  redress  they  are  entitled  to  avail  themselves  of  for  tho 
tuji tries  they  suffer. 

Little  aid  can  be  obtained  from  mod  era  cases.     The  simple 
quf  >tion  is,  whether  there  is  a  class  of  magistrates  in  this  country 
d  Co  Issue  their  warrants  without  any  information  upou 

i 


122  BRI.ECT  SKETCHES  OP 

oath,  and  without  any  crime  having  been  actually  committed, 
and  entitled  upon  such  warrants  to  imprison  any  description  of 
the  king's  subjects,  without  having  afterwards  to  make  atone- 
ment, and  compensation.    If  the  Court  decide  with  the  defendant, 
they  establish  this  monstrous  proposition.     See  what  the  action 
5s  :  it  is  an  action  brought  against  the  defendant  for  false  im- 
prisonment, and  his  justification  is  that  he  is  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Kittys  Bench.     This  is  the  proper  form  of  an  action  brought 
against  a  magistrate  who  issues  a  warrant.     The  c  isa  of  Morgan 
v.  Hughes,  in  Term  Reports,  225,  proves  that  it  is  the  only  form 
of  action  suited  to  such  a  case.     This  was  an  action  of  'trespass, 
the  defendant  being  accused  of  having  issued  his  warrant,  and 
maliciously  arrested  the  plaintiff.     There  was  a  demurrer  to  the 
declaration,  and  judgment  was  had  that  the  acfiun  should  have 
been  brought  for  false  imprisonment.    What  is  Vae  nature  of  the 
present  defence  1   The  mere  assertion,  that  the  learned  •  defendant 
is  Cioief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  King's  Beucn,  urr:l  the  assertion 
cf  the  mode  he  adopted  in  imprisoning  the  plaintiff.     It  does 
not* say  that  he  despatched  his  menial  servant  with  such  com- 
mands as  he  pleased  to  give  j  but  it  does  say  that  he  granted 
}'is  warrant  with   such  recitals  as  his  imagination  8u<r<?ested. 
This  is  th*j  real  language  of  the  plea.    It  cannot  be  aided  by  any 
intendment — no  presumption  can  be  made  in  its  favour ;  on  thp 
contrary,  the  first  principles  of  pleading  require  that  it  shouid 
be  takej.  most  strictly  against  the  defendant.     This  is  the  ruk 
laid  down  by  Lord  Coke  (Coke  Littleton,  303-6) ;  and  to  show 
that  this  general  rule  of  pleading  most  directly  applies  to  justi- 
cation,  I  beg  to  refer  you  to  Cummins's  ui^est,  E.  17.    Nothing^ 
therefore,  can  be  intended  beyond  this  allegation,  that  the  de- 
fendant wa,s  a  magistrate,  and  arrested  the  plaintiff  by  his  wf>'- 
rant.     The  Court  cannot  supply  the  allegation  : — 1st,  that  tho 
crime  was  committed — 2nd.  that  the  plaintiff  was  one  of  the 
persons  concerned  in  that  crime — -3rd,  that  the  defendant  knew 
or  suspected  that  the  plaintiff  was  so  concerned.     These  are 
clearly  material  and  traversable  allegations,  upon  which  issue 
might  be  taken,  and  the  fact  tried  by  a  jury;  but  no  issue  tried 
upon  this  plea  can  bring  any  of  these  facts  into  controversy. 
Upon  thy  tricJ  it  would  not  be  necessary  for  the  defendant  to 
prove  any  of  them ;  so  that  it  is  clear,  that  if  the  demurrer  be 
over-ruled,  the  Court  will  establish  a  right  in  a  class  of  magis- 
trates, or  in  some  of  them,  to  arrest  without  knowledge — without 
suspicion — without  a  crime — without  a  criminal  act 

The  class  to  which  I  allude  is,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Lord 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  J  23 

Treasurer,  the  Lord  High  Steward,  the  Lord  Marshal,  the  Lord 
High  Constable,  the  four  Judges  of  the  King's  Bench,  and  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls.  (1st  Blackstone,  350.) 

I  now  proceed  to  show — 1st.  that  the  plea  does  not  state  anr 
matter  sufficient  to  justifiy  the  imprisonment  of  the  plaintiff', 
or,  in  other  words,  that  the  trespass  is  manifestly  a  ialse  impri- 
sonment, notwithstanding  anything  alleged  in  the  plea  ;  2ndly, 
that  there  is  nothing  stated  in  the  plea  sufficient  to  bar  the 
action  for  false  imprisonment  against  the  defendant.  If  I  clearly 
establish  the  first,  I  think  I  shall  go  far  to  induce  the  Court  to 
decide  the  second  proposition  in  rny  favour. 

Now,  as  to  the  first,  it  seems  unnecessary  to  go  beyond  the 
unrepealed  clause  of  the  great  charter — namely,  that  "no 
freeman  shall  be  imprisoned  unless  by  the  judgment  of  his 
peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  lamd."  Here  I  may  rest  my 
client's  cause,  and  call  for  that  judgment  of  his  peers,  or  that 
]aw  of  the  land  which  dragged  him,  without  the  ordinary 
courtesy  of  summons  or  notice,  from  his  family ;  which  asso- 
ciated him  through  the  streets  of  this  city,  as  if  he  were  a  felon, 
with  the  thief- takers  of  the  police.  Where  is  the  judgment 
which  condemned  him  to  sustain  this  inconvenience  and  con- 
tumely ?  There  is  none,  my  lords.  It  is  not  pretended  that 
there  is  any.  And  for  Jaw  we  are  presented  with  this  warrant 
— a  warrant,  not  only  assuming,  but  creating  all  the  facts,  and 
fortified  by  nothing  but  its  own  allegations,  commanding  the 
arrest  of  the  plaintiff — a  warrant,  distinguishing,  it  is  true,  be- 
tween meetings  for  the  purpose,  and  those  held  under  pretence 
of  petitioning  parliament,  but  declaring  guilt  in  either  case. 
But  can  it  be  insisted  that  this  warrant  answers  the  description 
of  the  law  of  the  land  rt  It  seems  to  me.  to  be  a  monstrous  pro- 
position to  call  it  so  ;  and,  indeed,  it  would  be  more  absurd  to 
call  any  man  a  -freeman  who  was  subject  to  such  a  law.  He 
•would  be  the  abject  slave  of  caprice. 

I  know,  ray  lords,  that  a  statute,  the  37th  of  Edward  the 
Third,  chapter  1,  has  explained  the  words  le^em  terrce  to  mean 
"  due  process  of  law."  Here  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  under- 
stood, that  I,  for  the  present,  concede  in  argument,  that  which, 
in  point  of  law,  I  could  not  admit,  save  for  the  sake  of  argu- 
ment, that  the  supposed  offence  charged  upon  my  client,  is  one 
for  which  any  Subject  is  liable  to  arrest  before  indictment.  It 
is  not  a  felony  nor  a  breach  of  the  peace,  and,  therefore,  I  do 
not  think  an  arrest  before  an  indictment  was  justifiable  in  this 
case ;  but  for  the  present  I  concede  that  it  would  have  been 


124  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


justifiable  upon  "  due  process ;"  and  if  this  warrant  be  "  di 
process  of  law,"  is  the  present  question.     I  have  already  sho^ 

.1        .      1 1    •  i     •  1      J  *  J  *     * 


due 
snown 

that  this  warrant  is  not  grounded  upon  any  evidence,  a  suspicion 
either  of  an  existing  crime,  or  of  the  plaintiff's  being  a  criminal  • 
but  to  sanction  an  arrest,  all  these  are  necessary  ingredients  in  • 
lawful  warrant,  for  no  arrest  can  be  made  before  indictment, 
except  there  be  either  first  a  direct  charge  upon  oath,  stating  the 
existence  of  a  criminal,  and  that  the  party  actually  is,  or  is  sus- 
pected to  be  the  criminal ;  or,  secondly,  strong  and  :x-ational  sus- 
picion declared  on  oath,  of  the  crime  and  criminal.  That  this 
is  the  utmost  extent  of  the  legal  doctrine  of  arrests — that  these 
are  the  legal  grounds  to  justify  the  granting  of  a  warrant,  appear 
from  all  the  books— 4th  Blackstone,  289  ;  2nd  Hale,  108,  110  ; 
2nd  Hawkins,  135-6.  Hale,  in  page  110,  represents  the  neces- 
sity of  examining  the  parties  requiring  the  warrant  upon  oath,  as 
to  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  the  crime  and  the  criminal  ;  and 
Blackstone  says,  that  "  without  such  oath  no  warrant  should  be 
granted  ;"  and  the  same  law  is  laid  down  by  Sergeant  Hawkins. 
By  consulting  these  authorities,  my  lord,  you  will  find  that  I 
am  borne  out  in  asserting  that  this  is  the  very  extent  of  the  law ; 
for  more  ancient  writers,  as  Lord  Coke  (2nd  Institute,  51,  52) 
had  asserted  that,  before  indictment  or  presentment,  no  man 
could  be  arrested  ;  and  all  that  Hale,  Hawkins,  and  Blackstoue 
contended  for  is,  that  Lord  Coke  is  mistaken  ;  for  that  if  there 
be  a  charge  upon  oath,  a  warrant  to  arrest  may  be  granted  be- 
fore indictment.  This  point,  namely — that  a  charge  upon  oath 
sanctions  an  arrest,  is  the  utmost  they  contend  for  ;  and  Hawkins 
concludes  Iris  observations  upon  the  subject  in  these  words — 
"  Yet,  inasmuch  as  justices  of  the  peace  claim  this  power  (that 
of  arresting  -before  indictment)  rather  by  connivance  than  an} 
express  warrant  of  law;  and  since  the  undue  use  of  it  may  prove 
so  highly  prejudicial  to  the  reputation  as  well  as  the  liberty  of 
the  party,  a  justice  cannot  well  be  too  tender  of  his  proceedings 
of  this  kind,  and  seems  to  be  punishable,  not  only  at  the  suit  of 
the  King,  but  also  of  the  party  grieved,  if  he  grant  any  such 
warrant  groundlessly  and  maliciously,  without  such  a  probable 
cause  as  might  induce  a  candid  or  impartial  man  to  suspect  the 
party  to  be  guilty."  (2nd  Hawkins,  135-6.) 

We  have  then  got  to  the  extreme  of  the  law  when  we  arrive 
at  arrests  by  warrants,  because  of  a  charge  established  by  oath  ; 
and  an  extreme  which  has  been  resorted  to,  not  because  it  has 
the  sanction  of  any  express  law,  but  by  means  of  its  necessity,  tc 
prevent  the  escape  of  felons  before  they  could  be  indicted, "and 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL    ESQ..  M.P. 

from  connivance  at  the  long-used  practice.  It  is  not,  indeed,  in 
>ases  where  it  applies  now,  disputed,  because,  in  addition  to  the 
authority  on  which  it  rests  in  the  direct  opinion  of  the  "  sages 
of  the  law,"  it  has  been  recognized  in  some  cases  of  felony  by 
those  acts  of  parliament,  which  direct  the  manner,  in  some  in- 
stances, of  giving  bail  upon  such  warrants.  But  there  is  no  where 
to  be  found  any  case  of  any  allegation  of  any  law  writer  cariying 
the  power  of  arrest  further ;  for  I  need  not  detain  the  Court  by 
any  comment  on  the  passage  in  2nd  State  Trial,  5,  6,  which  re- 
fers to  Trogmorton  and  Allen  (2  Rolle's  Abi.,  558.) 

Mr.  Perrin  has,  with  the  ability  and  learning  he  discovers  on 
every  occasion,  shown  you  that  Hale  must  be  understood  as 
meaning  that  the  warrant  of  the  justice  is  a  justification  to  the 
constable  who  executed  it,  not  that  the  justice  could  protect  him- 
self by  his  own  allegation.  This  distinction  IK  familiar  to  your 
lordships  ;  and,  although  Mr.  Foster  seemed  to  rely  on  the  pas- 
sage, to  sustain  the  defence  of  the  justice  who  issued  the  warrant, 
yet,  Mr.  Pennefather  felt  himself  bound  to  admit  that  the  pas- 
sage is  merely  applicable  to  tfce  constable ;  and  the  case  referred 
to,  Trogmorton  and  Allen,  is  accordingly  the  case  of  a  justifica- 
tion by  a  constable.  There  is,  therefore,  I  repeat  it,  not  even-  a 
solitary  dictum  in  the  books,  and  if  there  had,  the  research  of 
the  counsel  for  -the  defendant  would  have  discovered  it.  There 
is  not,  I  confidently  repeat,  a  single  assertion  in  any  law  book, 
that  a  warrant  may  be  legally  issued  without  a  charge  upon  oath. 
It  follows,  therefore,  of  obvious  and  inevitable  necessity,  that  this 
warrant  was  not  legally  issued. 

It  was  not  "due  process  of  law."  My  client  has  been  illegally 
and  against  the  provisions  of  the  great  charter,  deprived  of  his 
liberty.  The  defendant  is  guilty  of  false  imprisonment. 

This  brings  me  to  the  second  point ;  for  it  is  alleged,  that 
though  the  arrest  was  unjustifiable,  although  the  defendant  be 
clearly  guilty  of  a  trespass  and  false  imprisonment,  yet  he  is  not 
responsible  in  an  action  for  damages.  In  short,  that  although 
he  is  not  infallible,  still  he  is  inviolable  ;  but  I  trust,  notwith- 
standing, I  shall  be  able  to  satisfy  the  Court  of  my  second  pro- 
position— namely,  "  that  the  matter  stated  in  the  defendant's 
plea  is  net  sufficient  to  bar  the  action  for  this  false  imprisonment." 
The  plea  contains  nothing  but  the  fact  which  appears  on  the  face 
of  the  decoration — viz.,  that  the  defendant  is  Chief  Justice  of 
Jho  Kirg's  Bench,  with  all  the  authorities  and  rights  belonging 
to  that  office,  and  that  he,  as  such,  arrested  the  plaintiff  by 
means  of  a  warrant.  Upon  this  allegation,  the  counsel  for  the 


126  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

defendant  contend  that  no  action  lies,  and  conceding  that  a  tres- 
pass has  been  committed,  they  say,  that  this  is  one  of  the  instances 
in  the  law  where  there  is  an  injury  without  means  of  compensa- 
tion, because  the  defendant  being  a  judge  of  a  superior  court,  no 
action  will  bo  against  him. 

It  is,  my  lords,  readily  admitted,  that  no  action  lies  against 
any  judge  for  any  judicial  act  whatsoever  ;  but  we  insist  that  it 
does  lie  against  every  judge  for  ministerial  acts.  This  distinction 
was  taken  by  Mr.  Perrin,  and  sustained  with  his  usual  force  and 
ingenuity.  It  was  admitted  by  Mr.  Footer,  and  though  not  ex- 
pressly admitted,  it  was,  as  I  shall  show,  distinctly  recognised 
by  Mr.  Pennefather,  who,  however,,  has  announced  a  new  propo- 
sition— namely,  that  no  action  lies  for  any  act  of  a  judge  of  the 
superior  courts,  adding,  in  the  meantime,  any  act  done  as  a  judge. 
Now,  if  by  acts  done  as  a  judge  he  means  judicial  acts,  this  is 
conceded.  If  he  includes  ministerial  acts,  and  that  the  judges 
of  the  superior  courts  are  in  no  wise  responsible  in  actions,  al- 
though for  the  same  acts,  and  within  their  jurisdiction,  inferior 
judges  would  be  responsible  ;  this  is  not  only  denied,  but  the 
charge  of  a  "  bold  attempt"  to  subvert  principle  recognised  in 
every  case  he  has  himself  cited,  is  retorted,  and  justly  retorted 
on  the  learned  gentleman ;  for,  in  Hammond  and  Howell  (2 
Mod.  218)  quoted  by  him,  the  Court  expressly  say,  "  though 
they,  (the  judges)  were  mistaken,  yet  they  acted  judicially,  and 
fox  that  reason  no  action  could  lie  against  the  defendant."  For 
what  reason  1  Not  because  the  defendant  was  judge  of  any  par- 
ticular court,  but  because  he  acted  judicially.  And  in  Floyd  v. 
Barker  (12th  Coke,  23rd)  also  cited  by  him,  this  distinction  is 
expressly  t&ken — "  A  judge  or  justice  of  the  peace  cannot  be 
charged  for  conspiracy  for  that  which  he  did  onenly  in  court,  for 
the  causes  and  reasons  aforesaid." 

The  two  next  causes  cited  by  the  learned  gentleman,  not  only 
confirms  the  distinction  we  rely  on,  but  illustrates  its  application 
in  practice.  These  cases  are  Barnardiston  v.  Soames  (2  Liv.  114) 
and  Ashby  and  White  (2  Lord  Raymond,  938).  In  the  first  of 
these  cases  it  was  held,  that  no  action  would  He  for  falsely  and 
maliciously  making  a  double  return  to  Parliament.  Why  ?  Be- 
cause the  judges  were  of  opinion  that  the  sheriff  acted,  in  that 
respect,  judicially.  In  Ashby  and  White  it  was  held,  that  for 
rejecting  the  vote  of  a  person  qualified  to  vote  at  an  election,  an 
action  would  lie  against  the  sheriff.  Why1?  Because  it  was 
held,  th.-it  the  sheriff  acted,  in  that  respect,  ministerially.  And 
this  cliatiuction  is  further  recognised  and  acted  on  in  the  next 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  12 "4 

case  cited  by  the  learned  gentleman,  of  Mailer  v.  Scares  (V  Black- 
stone,  1141),  where  an  action  was  held  to  lie  against  the  Com- 
missioners of  Bankruptcy,  for  improperly  committing  a  man  for 
not  answering  satisfactorily.  It  was  held  to  lie,  because  their 
•>ffice  was  considered  executory  and  ministerial,  and  not  judicial. 
Let  me  add  to  tiiese  authorities  the  case  cited  by  Mr.  Perrin, 
and  commented  on  by  the  gentlemen  on  the  other  side,  in  yfreen- 
velt  v.  Benweli  (in  Salk.  396  ;  Lord  Raymond,  467;  and.' Cum. 
77).).  The  Court  will  find  the  judgment  of  Lord  Holt  given 
very  distinctly  in  Cummins — "  And  that  no  action  will  lie 
against  any  judge  for  what  he  does  judicially,  and  of  record  • 
but  if  a  justice  of  the  peace  issue  a  warrant,  and  commit  a  party 
without  cause,  he  may  be  punished,  because  the  act  is  only  mi- 
nisterial, and  the  commitment  only  intended  for  process  and  not 
for  punishment ;"  and  lie  cites,  from  1 2  Coke,  Nudigate's  case. 
He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  though  he  recorded  a  cir- 
cumstance falsely,  yet,  as  he  acted  as  a  judge,  that  is,  judicially, 
no  action  would  lie.  Now,  compare  the  cases.  If  Nuiigate 
had  issued  a  groundless  warrant  for  any  act  of  violence,  an  action 
would  have  lain  against  him,  because  the  act  was  ministerial ; 
but  when  he  acted  judicially  and  upon  record,  no  such  action 
could  be  maintained. 

Thus,  my  lords,  all  the  cases  establish  our  distinction  between 
judicial  and  ministerial  acts,  as  well  those  relied  on  at  the  c  o» 
posite  side,  as  those  cited  by  Mr.  Perrin.  But  where  is  the  dis- 
tinction stated  by  Mr.  Pennefather  to  be  found  ?  I  have  been 
unable  to  trace  it  in  any  of  the  cases ;  and  if  you  examine  the 
authorities  from  which  he  has  endeavoured  to  infer  such  a  dis- 
tinction, I  think  you  will  join  me  in  considering  that  his  infe- 
rences are  unfounded,  and  his  positions  untenable. 

And  now  having  I  trust,  established  that  which  is,  indeed,  a 
familiar  distinction  to  your  lordships,  I  shall  proceed  to  show 
you  that  the  issuing  of  the  warrant  by  the  Chief  Justice  was  a 
ministerial,  and  not  t.  judicial  act.  1  admit  that  the  Judges  of. 
the  King's  Bench  are  coroners  and  conservators  of  the  peace 
throughout  Ireland,  and  it  is  in  this  capacity  of  conservators  of 
the  peace  that  the  present  warrant  was  issued,  or  indeeu  could 
have  been  issued.  None  of  your  lordships,  notwithstanding  the 
dignity  and  extent  of  your  judicial  authority,  could  issue  such  a 
warrant,  because  none  of  you  is  a  conservator  of  the  peace 
throughout  the  different  counties.  But  the  conservator  of  the 
peace  was,  and  is,  a  merely  ministerial  officer.  In  page  354, 
volume  1,  Blackstone  says,  that  his  power  consisted ""  m  sup- 


128  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

pressing  riots,  and  taking  securities  for  the  peace,  and  in  appre- 
hending felons  and  other  malefactors.  This  would  appear  to  be 
the  full  extent  of  the  common  law  authority  of  conservators  of 
the  peace.  The  Court  is,  of  course,  rally  aware  that  the  consti- 
tution of  justices  of  the  peace  is  widely  different.  The  power 
of  electing  conservator?  of  the  peace  having  been  taken  from  the 
people,  and  vested  in  the  crown,  by  the  34th  of  Edward  the 
Third,  chapter  1,  they  first  got  a  judicial  character,  were  em- 
powered to  try  offences,  and  obtained  the  name  of  justices. — 
(Blackstone,  350.)  The  justices  of  the  peace  are  judges  of  a  court 
of  record — the  conservators  of  the  peace  are  not  so.  This  power 
of  conservator  of  the  peace  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench 
holds  in  corumon  with  the  Chancellor,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls 
and  the  other  persons  whom  I  have  named ;  and  if  this  be  a 
good  justification  for  him,  it  would  be  equally  so  for  the  Master 
of  the  Rolls,  for  he  has  closed  in  him  the  same  authority  in  his 
ministerial  capacity.  Then  was  the  warrant  issued  improperly, 
as  it  was,  in  itself,  a  ministerial  act.  For  this  I  have  the  expre«? 
authority  of  Lord  Holt;  his  words  are,  an  action  will  lie  for  im- 
properly issuing  a  warrant,  because  the  act  is  only  ministerial, 
and  intended  for  process  not  punishment ;  and  1  have  the  equally 
explicit  authority  of  all  the  cases  from  Windham  v.  Clue,  (Cro. 
El.  130)  to  Morgan  v.  Hughes,  (Second  Term  Report,  225,)  and 
those  cases  which  occur  every  day,  in  which  actions  are  main- 
tained against  justices  of  the  peace  for  issuing  warrants  without 
legal  grounds,  although  those  justices  are  judges  of  the  very 
courts  in  which  the  offences  specified  in  those  warrants  are  triable, 
although  they  have  jurisdiction  over  the  offence  and  the  offender, 
and  although  for  their  judicial  acts  in  that  very  matter  no  action 
would  lie.  This,  then,  is  a  ministerial  act,  done  by  a  ministerial 
officer,  for  which,  whatever  be  the  number  and  value  of  his  other 
high  dignities,  he  is  responsible  to  my  client. 

I  shall  now  follow  Mr.  Pennefather  in  a  few  observations  upon 
some  of  the  other  points  which  he  has  laboured  in  this  caae ;  and 
first,  where  he  insists  that  this  must  be  taken  as  a  judicial  act, 
because  it  is  averred  to  have  been  done  by  the  Lord  Chief  Jus- 
tice ;  and  as  we  have  not  traversed  the  fact  of  its  being  so  done, 
and  in  order  to  sustain  this  proposition,  he  cited  Eton  v.  Southly, 
from  Walker.  I  shall  dismiss  the  case  by  observing,  that  all  it 
proves  is,  that  an  allegation  "  that  A.  B.  having  been  possessed 
i&s  a  tenant  at  will,"  is  a  sufficient  averment  that  he  then  was 
tenant  at  will — but  we  are  not  disputing  upon  averments  in  this 
instance.  Tt  is  sufficiently  averred  that  the  defendant  was  Chief 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  129 

Justice,  and  as  such,  namely,  by  virtue  of  the  office  of  conserva- 
tor, which  that  dignity  conferred  on  him,  issued  this  warrant 
Can  it  be  seriously  contended,  that  issue  should  have  been  taken 
upon  the  title  the  defendant  chose  to  style  himself  by,  when  he 
issued  this  warrant?  What  would  the  jury  have  to  try1?  Cer- 
tainly something  very  immaterial — the  appellation  the  defen- 
dant chose  to  be  addressed  by  at  that  moment.  But  the  ques- 
tion is,  whether  this  be  a  judicial  or  a  ministerial  act.  Now, 
can  the  nature  of  the  act  depend  on  the  name  or  title  of  the  ac 
tor  ? — Is  the  quality  of  the  fact  to  be  changed  with  the  dignity 
of  the  doer"?  But,  really,  it  does  not  appear  to  me  that  I  should 
be  at  all  justified  in  detaining  your  lordships  upon  this  part  of 
the  case. 

The  second  point  in  Mr.  Pennefather's  argument,  to  which  1 
have  to  entreat  a  few  moments  of  your  attention,  is  that  part  of 
the  case  in  which,  without  admitting  the  distinction  between 
judicial  and  ministerial  acts,  he  still  acknowledged  its  authority, 
by  the  pains  he  took  to  prove  the  granting  of  a  warrant  to  be  a 
judicial  act.  He  first  insisted  that  no  action  would  lie  for  un- 
justly issuing  a  fiat,  and  then  he  compared  warrants  to  fiats. 
Now,  it  may  be  conceded  that  no  action  would  lie  in  the  first 
case ;  but  if  warrants  be  fiats  as  process  to  bring  the  party  in, 
then  the  authorities  and  cases  in  which  actions  have  lain  against 
justices  of  the  peace  for  issuing  warrants  are  all  mistaken,  and 
a  discovery  is  made  that  by  comparing  warrants  to  fiats,  the  de- 
fendants would  have  been  entitled  to  non-suit  the  plaintiffs  in 
those  actions — a  mighty  discovery,  truly ! ! !  But  if  this  be  a 
point  of  non-suit  only  for  a  Chief  Justice,  this  absolutely  would 
follow,  that  if  this  identical  warrant  had  been  issued  by  my  Lord 
Mayor  A.  B.  King,  who  is  a  magistrate  of  great  dignity,  and  I 
presume  entitled  to  some  veneration  from  the  counsel  at  the 
other  side — if  the  Lord  Mayor  who  is  also  a  presiding  judge  at 
the  sessions  had  issued  this  very  warrant,  an  action  might  have 
lain  against  him,  because  it  was  ministerial,  though  to  the  extent 
0f  trying  and  punishing  this  crime,  he  is  as  fully  a  judge  as  the 
present  defendant. 

It  is  contended  that  the  superior  quality  of  the  Chief  Justice 
alters  the  act  into  a  judicial  one — it  becomes  a  3at  and  not  a 
warrant,  and  no  action  can  be  maintained ;  but  there  is,  really, 
no  similitude  between  the  two ;  a  fiat  is  only  aii  order  to  the 
officer  to  make  out  a  writ  or  process — a  warrant  is  the  process 
itself ;  the  writ  issued  on  the  fiat,  must,  of  necessity,  be  return- 
able in  the  court  out  of  which  it  issued — a  warrant  is  not  return- 


130  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

able  at  all,  and  it  is  intended  to  force  in  a  party  to  any  court 
having  cognizance  of  the  offence,  within  the  territorial  limit  of 
the  officer  who  grants  it.  In  Blackstone,  294,  are  these  \vorda  : 
•'  The  warrant  may  be  either  general  or  special ;  general,  to  bring 
the  offender  before  any  justice — special,  to  bring  him  before  uny 
individual  justice."  So  that  this  warrant  is  part  of  a  case  after-- 
wards  tried  before  the  defendant,  only  because  he  chose  not  to  send 
the  plaintiff  to  the  sessions.  It  has,  therefore,  no  necessary  con- 
nection with  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  nor  indeed  any  otber  con- 
nection with,  that  court,  but  what  the  defendant  chose  to  give  it. 

Next,  the  case  of  the  King  v.  White  (Cases  Temp.  Hard.  37) 
has  been  relied  on.  To  prevent  any  controversy  I  have  brought 
the  book  to  read  it.  [Here  Mr.  O'Conuell  referred  to  the  book, 
but  it  was  thought  unnecessary  by  the  Court,  and  passed  with- 
out debate.]  Now,  what  does  this  case  prove]  Does  it  convert 
any  ministerial  act  into  a  judicial  act?  Does  it  alter  or  qualify 
the  authority  of  the  cases  I  have  mentioned.  It  proves,  uojhiu^ 
but  what  is  familiar  in  every  day's  practice,  namely,  that  all  om 
cers  of  justice  are  under  the  control  of  the  King's  Bench.  Whore 
complaints  are  made  to  that  court  of  any  magistrates  or  pffk 
if  the  fact  be  admitted,  they  grant  an  attachment — if  ^he  fact 
be  disputed,  they  grant  an  information  to  have  it  tried  by  a  jury. 
Tn  the  King  v.  Reilly,  (T.  T.  Kep.  20-4,)  the  King's  Bench  at- 
tached Mr.  Rfcilly  for  calling  a  meeting  of  the  county.  Lord 
Earlsfort  there  lays  it  down,  that  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  has 
a  general  control  over  all  inferior  courts  and  inferior  officers,  and 
tiie  power  of  punishing  them  by  attachment  for  misconduct ;  and 
it  clearly  follows,  that  an  attachment  might,  upon  these  adrni''- 
ted  principles,  have  been  granted,  if  the  constable  had  disobeyed 
the  warrant  of  any  other  magistrate.  Thus  the  King  v.  Whit? 
proves  nothing  but  what  was  not  denied,  viz.t  the  power  of  th$ 
Court  of  King's  Bench  to  punish  the  misconduct  of  inferior  ofii- 
cers  as  for  a  contempt  of  that  court.  The  arguments  drawn 
from  the  cases  of  fiats  do  not  apply;  and  if  they  did,  they  v/ould 
prove  too  much,  and  are  encountered  by  all  the  cases  in  which 
magistrates  have  been  convicted  on  actions  for  issuing  warrants. 
The  capacity  in  which  the  defendant  acted  is  a  matter  of  la\v  not 
capable  of  being  tried  by  a  jury,  and  not  altering  tbe  nature  of 
the  act.  That  act  was  a  ministerial  act,  which  is  not  protected 
from  actions,  and  not  a  judicial  act,  which  is  protected ;  and, 
lastly,  this  arrest  upon  those  pleadings  is  a  false  imprisonment; 
for  which  the  defendant  is  bound  to  abide  the  verdict  of  a  jury. 

I  have  now,  inv  lords,  lyrgued  the  case,  and  have  only  to  add 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,   ESQ.,   M.P.  131 

a  word  or  two  in  reply  to  some  general  topics  introduced  by  Mr. 
Pennefather — 1st,  he  said  that  this  was  one  of  that  class  of  inju- 
ries for  which  there  i&  no  remedy.  He  cited  the  case  of  Lecaux 
v.  Eden,  but  it  does  not  prove,  by  any  means,  what  he  would 
wish  to  establish.  The  aggrieved  party  here,  though  he  did  not 
get  immediate  redress,  was  tokl  that  an  appeal  to  the  Court  of 
Admiralty  would  be  efficacious.  Mr.  Pennefather  talked  of  a 
case  of  felony  in  wrhich  the  party  had  no  redress  by  the  recovery 
of  damages,  but  it  could  not  escape  observation,  that  if  he  was 
not  remunerated  in  money,  lie  would  in  the  punishment  of 
the  offender.  He  commented  upon  the  expediency  of  suffering 
a  private  injury  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  public  good  ;  but 
though  I  admit,  most  cordially,  the  general  principel,  yet  I  deny 
its  application  in  the  present  instance.  He  has  bestowed  some 
words  upon  the  necessity  that  existed  for  the  defendant's  inter- 
ference in  the  case  of  the  Catholic  delegates.  I  do  not  see  this 
necessity.  There  were  many  persons  who  could,  with  the  great- 
est propriety  and  delicacy,  fill  his  place  on  such  an  occasion. 
But  if,  as  Mr,  Pennefather  would  contend,  the  Chief  Justice 
acted  in  his  judicial  capacity  in  granting  a  warrant  against  my 
client,  see  to  what  a  predicament  he  has  been  reduced.  He  has 
first  judged  my  client ;  secondly,  resorted  to  the  mockery  of  a 
process  to  bring  him  to  trial ;  and,  thirdly,  judged  him  again  ! 
And  what  would,  my  lords,  be  the  consequence  of  suffering  thia 
extraordinary  and  monstrous  power  in  a  chief  justice  ?  VVhy, 
my  lords,  if  my  Lord  Ellenborough,  the  English  Chancellor, 
or  the  Master  of  the  Eolls,  had  conceived  any  malice  to  any  of 
your  lordships  to-morrow,  they  might  issue  their  warrants  and 
drag  you  from  your  bench  to  answer  a  fictitious  charge  before 
them,  and  do  all  this,  subjecting  themselves  to  no  penalty  1 

Mr.  Pennefather  has,  lastly,  told  us,  that  the  subject  could 
resort  to  parliament,  in  the  event  of  any  unwarrantable  pror 
ceedings  on  the  part  of  the  Chief  Justice.  Why,  my  lords, 
what  a  mockery  this  is  !  If  the  Irish  peasant  has  been  aggrieved 
by  a  chief  justice,  it  is  a  consolation  for  him  to  have  the  liberty 
of  making  a  miserable  passage  to  Holyhead,  then  walking  bare- 
foot to  London,  and,  lastly,  stating  his  wrongs  to  the  imperial 
parliament,  in  a  language  unknown  to  them.  My  lords,  I  anj 
confident  you  cannot— from  a  due  consideration  of  the  authorir 
ties  I  have  cited,  and  the  reasoning  that  has  been  advanced  on 
our  behalf — decide  againstrug. 

The  Court  signified  that  judgment  would  be  given  on  Tuesday. 

TK.wever,  at  the  sitting  o{  Ua»  Court  upon  the  next  day,  Loid  Norbury  announced  that 


1 32  SELECT  BREECHES  OP 

klmselt  and  brother  judges  were  so  fai  from  having  made  tip  their  minds  on  the  poh' 
issue,  that  they  "  required  more  argument  from  counsel,"  and  appointed  the  succe'H 
Tuesday  (that  day  week)  for  the  hearing.  Upon  that  day  judgment  was  deferred  till 
next  term,  and  then  decided  against  the  Catholics. 


VOTE  OF  CENSURE. 

Ox  tne  5th  of  December,  1812,  the  Catholic  Board  again  met,  when  Dr.  Dromgook-  retire*, 
the  subject  of  the  vote  of  censure  and  in  an  able  speech  contended  against  its  impolicy 
concluding  with  a  motion  to  the  following  effect :— 

"  Resolved — That,  in  order  to  meet  the  public  and  private  calumnies 
which  the  enemies  of  religious  liberty  have  circulated,  we  feel  ourselves 
bound  to  declare,  that  the  resolutions  of  last  spring  and  sumraer,  re- 
specting candidates  for  parliament,  could  not  be,  and  were  not  intended 
to  enjoin  or  sanction  the  violation  of  promises  entered  into  at  any  time 
previous  to  their  adoption." 

Mr.  O'Gorman  recommended  the  adoption  of  tola  resolution. 

Mr.  O'Connell  said  he  was  anxious  to  second  the  motion,  a* 
•well  because  he  concurred  most  heartily  in  every  thing  that  fell 
from  his  respectable  friend,  Dr.  Dromgoole,  as  from  his  wish  to 
take  at  length  an  opportunity  of  delivering  his  sentiments  dis- 
tinctly upon  the  subject  which  had  caused  so  much  of  agitation 
amo'igst  the  Catholics  themselves.  One  would  imagine  that  we 
really  were  at  a  loss  for  enemies,  so  sedulous  did  we  appear  to 
excite  them  amongst  ourselves.  One  would  suppo-^e  that  Ire- 
land was  not  sufficiently  divided  and  distracted  already,  but 
that  division  and  dissension  in  the  Catholic  Board  could  be 
afforded  in  addition  and  as  a  pastime.  Indeed,  the  progress  of 
this  unfortunate  feud  in  the  Board  might  have  been  arrested  at 
a  certain  period.  Perhaps,  I  draw  upon  my  mere  vanity,  when 
I  indulge  the  dream  that  I  could  sooner  have  terminated  it ;  but 
full  sure  I  am,  that  I  ought  to  have  sooner  endeavoured  to  do 
so,  but  I  was  restrained  by  motives  which,  upon  reflection,  I  am 
unable  to  justify. 

It  is  due  to  candour  to  state  them  : — in  the  first  place,  it  was 
impossible  not  to  see,  that  your  resolution,  although  dignified 
with  the  appellation  of  an  abstract  proposition,  was  intended 
first,  and  principally,  not  altogether,  for  a  single  individual.  I 
do  not  say  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  movers  to  use  it  as  the 
instrument  of  particular  vengeance  ;  they  have  disavowed  any 
such,  design,  and  we  are  bound,  as  we  are  ready,  to  believe  them. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  133 

The  effect,  however,  was  precisely  what  I  have  stated  with  the 
individual  thus  alluded  to.  I  mean  Mr.  Lalor  ;  I  am  proud  to 
AVOW  my  conviction.  I  have  the  pleasure  to  be  his  intimate 
friend  ;  I  have  the  honour  to  be  his  kinsman ;  I  boast  of  his 
friendship,  because  I  have  long  known  his  worth  in  all  the  rela- 
tions of  private  life,  and  in  our  public  cause.  I  have  seen  him 
.n  this  Board,  ever  ready  to  adopt  the  most  manly,  spirited,  and 
honourable  course  ;  he  never  spoke  amongst  us  of  entering  iuto 
any  timid  compromise  with  our  enemies ;  he  never  shrunk  from 
danger.  When  we  were  menaced  with  any  persecution,  he  was 
of  the  first  to  throw  himself  forward  ;  his  spirit  rose  with  our 
perils,  ay,  and  his  determination  increased  with  our  difficulties. 
I  loved  him,  because  I  saw  that  his  views  were  confined  to  the 
good  of  his  country — that  he  had  not,  and  could  not  have 
any  personal  motive — that,  with  generous  heart  and  open  hand, 
ne  contributed  to  all  your  expenditures,  and  that  his  existence 
was  ever  at  your  service.  I  saw  that  every  vote  he  gave  in  your 
ooard  or  committee,  was  precisely  that  which  struck  my  humble 
judgment  as  the  best  calculated  to  serve  your  interests. 

With  those  public  and  private  qualifications,  I  was,  and  am 
proud  of  obtaining  the  friendship  of  my  respected  relative.  And 
I  now  condemn  that  species  of  mistaken  delicacy,  which  pre- 
vented me  at  an  early  stage  of  this  business,  from  taking  an 
active  part  in  opposition  to  your  resolution  ;  I  imagined  that 
my  opposition  would  be  attributed  to  the  zeal  of  private  friend- 
Bhip,  and  not  to  that  which,  in  truth,  suggested  it — the  firm 
conviction  of  my  conscience.  There  was  another  motive  which 
also  contributed  to  paralyze  my  resistance  to  the  resolution  of 
last  meeting — I  am  ashamed  to  have  yielded  to  it  for  one  mo- 
ment — it  was  this  :  Mr.  Lalor's  vindication,  which  has  appeared 
in  the  public  papers,  was  well  known  to  have  teen  written  by 
me  ;  it  was  known  that  I  had  written  it,  merely  in  the  exercise 
of  professional  skill,  and  for  the  ordinary  inducements  of  pro- 
fessional exertions.  I  did  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  refuse 
drawing  it  in  that  capacity,  but  in  none  other  would  I  have  con- 
sented to  do  so.  I  may  be  much  mistaken,  but  I  thought  that 
1  ought  not  to  lend  myself  personally  to  any  part  of  that  vindi- 
cation. With  all  the  facts  (except  a  single  one  of  no  moment  to 
the  general  question,)  I  was  a  total  stranger  ;  and  in  the  contro- 
versy as  to  the  then  pending  election,  if  I  were  personally  to  have 
interfered  at  all,  it  would  most  certainly  have  been  in  favour  of 
the  candidates  who  have  succeeded.  Having,  however,  once 
acted  as  Mr.  Lalor's  counsel,  I  am  ashamed  r.hat  I  shrunk  from 


134  SELECT  SPEECHES  OT 

the  base  cft'umny  which  might  have  imputed  to  me  the  e;enf;i- 
ments  of  profession,  in  resisting  the  general  vote  of  censure-  - 
it  was  unbecoming  of  me  to  yield  to  so  paltry  and  pitiful  an  in- 
fluence of  delicacy.  You  well  know  whether  I  am  a  man  likely 
to  be  influenced  in  my  conduct  in  this  Board,  by  any  other  mo- 
tives than  those  of  honour  and  of  conscience.  I  speak  of  myself 
with  all  humility,  yet  I  own  I  entertain  the  expectation  that  my 
countrymen  in  general  require  not  from  me  any  defence  against 
the  imputation  of  mean  or  selfish  motives  ;  yet  they  were  these 
false  delicacies  that  prevented  my  opposing  the  resolution  of 
abstract  censure,  as  ii  has  been  caUed,  determinedly  and  upon 
principle. 

For  I  could  not  see  what  right  or  authority  you  had  to  pass 
any  such  resolution.  If  Mr.  Lalor  had  forfeited  the  confidence 
of  the  Catholics  of  the  county  of  Tipperary,  they  might  have 
declared  that  he  was  no  longer  to  be  a  manager  of  their  petition, 
as  the  Catholics  of  Newry  did  with  respect  to  Mr.  Jennings,  and 
fronji  that  moment  he  would  have  ceased  to  be  a  member  of  this 
Board  :  but  when  you  passed  a  vote  of  censure,  you  clearly 
travelled  out  of  your  authority,  and  into  the  hands  of  the  Attor- 
ney-General— you  abandoned,  for  a  moment,  the  conduct  of 
your  petition,  for  which  alone  you  are  appointed,  and  you  com- 
mitted yourselves  to  the  tender  mercies  of  your  friends  in  the 
King's  Bench.  It  is,  therefore,  fortunate  that  your  resolution 
passed,  as  I  am  ready,  if  necessary,  to  show,  irregularly,  and 
after  having  been,  in  point  of  fact,  negatived.  I  do  not  say  this 
to  reflect  upon,  or  to  diminish  the  triumph  of  those  who  have 
succeeded  in  that  vote  ;  I  introduce  it  simply  to  show  you,  that 
we  have  a  valid  defence  against  any  attack  of  the  Attorney- 
General  upon  this  ground — an  attack  which,  I  am  convinced,  he. 
would  have  already  commenced,  but  that  he  and  your  other  ene 
raies  imagine  that  you  are  about  to  do  their  work  for  them,  and 
to  destroy  yourselves  ky  your  own  dissensions. 

There  is  an  unhappy  spirit  broke  out  amongst  us.  It  is  the 
inevitable  consequence  of  turning  this  Board  into  a  species  of 
mock  tribunal,  and  destroying  individuals  with  an  axe,  which 
you  call  "abstract  censure."  In  plain  truth, 'how  is  it  possible 
we  should  judge  with  discretion  or  discrimination  upon  the  mo- 
tivjs  that  may  impel  private  individuals  ?  Their  neighbours  in 
their  respective  counties  may  be  able  to  judge  of  them,  and  they 
certainly  are  able  to  punish  them  by  exclusion  from  this  Board. 
But  how  are  you  to  summon  witnesses  or  to  examine  them,  to 
form  any  estimate  of  facts?  I  will  teV  you  what  the  witnesses 


DANIEL  <f CORNELL.  TiSQ.,  M. *,. '  2.S5 

are — public  report — a  Irar  to  a  proverb—  and  anonym otis  cal- 
umny— an  assassin  upon  record.  I  mysell',  for  example,  have 
no  less  than  five  anonymous  letters  lying  upon  my  table,  which 
charge  my  estimable  friend  with  every  atrocity.  I  know  of  my  own 
knowledge,  that  it  is  simply  impossible  that  some  of  them  should 
be  true — I  am  convinced  they  are  all  false.  Yet,  how  mair* 
members  of  this  Board — how  many  excellent  and  truly  honest 
men  may  not  be  influenced  in  their  decision  ois  Mr.  Lalor's  case,  by 
communications  which  may  have  reached  tb  .an  in  a  similar  way ! 

Jn  truth,  it  would  be  most  dangerous  for  us  to  usurp  the 
power  of  judging  of  facts,  which  we  want  the  means  to  investi- 
gate. But  my  great  objection  must  be  repeated  :  the  discussion 
of  questions  of  this  nature,  affecting  particular  individuals,  must 
necessarily  tend  to  excite  personal  animosity  amongst  us,  and  to 
produce  irritation  and  'rancour.  I  appeal  to  you,  whether  it 
has  not  already  had  this  effect.  Indeed,  I  need  not  make  the 
appeal ;  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  Board  who  has  not  seen,  with 
regret,  a  spirit  of  violence  and  of  hatred — the  very  genius  of 
personal  malignity  settling  here,  where  all  was  peace,  and  una- 
nimity, and  cordiality. 

And  have  we  not  enemies  enough,  and  to  spare?  Have  we 
not  Lord  Manners  and  his  Grace  of  Richmond  in  front,  whilst 
tl»e  Attorney-General  and  the  Dublin  Grand  Jury  hang  on  our 
rere?  Have  we  not  on  our  flank  the  bigoted  Liverpool  and 
that  Castlereagh,  long  exercised  in  >every  dark  stratagem  of 
ruin,  whc  would,  for  emolument,  barter  a  seat  in  heaven,  ii 
be  had  any  interest  in  that  country.  At  this  moment  bigotry 
i.s  awakened  from  the  slumber  into  which  Protestant  liberality, 
in  Ireland,  had  cast  her — bigotry,  at  the  command  of  power — 
bigotry,  lured  by  the  beloved  voice  of  interest,  has  aroused  in 
evsry  part  of  the  land.  The  first  in  station  and  in  rank  set  the 
example  of  obedience  to  the  command  which  they  themselves 
issued.  Every  little  village  bigot  in  the  land  is  animated  with 
the  hope  of  discounting  his  despicable  malignity  into  the  pay 
and  plunder  of  some  office.  Mark  the  active  rancour  of  their  hosti- 
lity :  Hutchinson — the  patriot  Hutchinson — is  opposed  in  Cork 
for  'jeing  your  champion.  The  opposition  of  the  Castle  stoops 
to  all  the  meanness  of  personal  animosity;  it  disgorges  its  domes- 
tics and  menials,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  Against  him ; 
the  refined  amusements  of  our  refined  government  are  suspended 
• — even  Casasino  stood  still,  and  the  tea-table  was  unattended — 
everybody  was  absent- — everybody  was  sent  to  oppose  Hutchin 
son,  because  he  was  the  friend  of  the  Catholics. 


1  36  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

The  clergy,  who  sometimes  have  a  most  admirable  instinct  in 
discovering  what  is  for  their  interest  here,  as  well  as  hereafter, 
ore  many  of  them  active  against  us ;  they  are  easily  marshalled 
under  the   auspices  of  a  right  rev.  prelate  of  the  Established 
Church — the  son  of  Popish  parents — the  brother  of  a  Popish 
priest,  who  has  published  a  pompous  pamphlet  against  us,  of 
great  promise  and  pretensions,  but  of  little  performance,  savo 
what  it  effects  by  the  very  difficult  and  novel  process  of  repeat- 
ing calumnies  a  thousand  times  refuted,  and  abjured,  and  contra- 
dicted upon  oath,  by  every  Catholic  in  Ireland.     I  should  be 
content  if  we  were  at  leisure  to  investigate  the  worthy  prelate's 
motives,  or  that  we  even  had  an  opportunity  of  printing,  in  the 
same  shape  with  his  pamphlet,  another  literary  morceau  of  the 
learned  and  pious  divine.     It  was,  I  believe  his  first  attempt — 
a  farce,  called  the  "  Generous  Impostor !" — oh,  the  generous  im- 
postor!   The  theatrical  dictionary  informs  us, that  this  farce  was 
damned ;  a  friend  of  mine  who  happened  to  have  seen  it,  assures 
us  that  there  was  a  warmth  of  expression  in  it — he  would  not 
for  the  world  call  it  an  obscenity,  which  in  some  quarters  would 
Almost  atone  for  its  dulness,  but  it  was  too  dull  even  for  the  vi- 
cious taste  of  a  London  audience  to  preserve  it  for  its  seasoning. 
But,  perhaps,  this  pamphlet  is  as  great  a  farce,  in  the  Fitzwil- 
liam  administration,  as  the  silent  exertions,  if  not  the  pamphlets 
of  the  divine  were  at  the  other  side — oh,  the  generous  impostor ! 
Look  to  the  counties — see  how  you  are  calumniated.     I  have 
already  more  than  once  had  occasion  to  remark,  the  principle  of 
this  administration  is  falsehood ;  this  principle  betrays  itself  in 
all  its  acts;  it,  therefore,  unblushingly,  circulates  its  calumnies 
against  us,  with  the  most  thorough  conviction  of  their  total 
want  of  truth.    Where  it  cannot  procure  the  direct  assertion  of  an 
untruth,  it  is  content  with  an  insinuation  containing  the  same 
meaning.     Thus,  for  example,  a  fraction  of  the  county  of  Dublin 
Grand  Jury  could  never  have  dared  to  charge  the  Catholics  of 
Ireland  plainly  and  directly  with  high  treason,  but  they  have 
had  the  meanness  to  insinuate  it  covertly  and  in  bad  English. 
We  should  thank  them  little  for  the  prudence  which  taught  them 
to  avoid  the  direct  assertion,  when  we  meet  the  depravity  that 
allowed  them  to  make  this  oblique  and  unmanly  attack  on  our 
characters.     Where  is  the  individual  amongst  them  that  would 
venture  to  make  the  foul  and  false  insinuation  of  disloyalty  to 
any  gentleman  of  this  Board  ?  and  if  there  were  any  individual 
so  rash  ae  to  use  the  insinuation,  I  know  the  chastisement  ho 
would  meet  with  and  receive.     But.  as  a  body,  we  are  calumni- 


DANIEL  O'OONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  137 

*ted  with  safety,  because  we  are  idly  busied  in  dissension  and  di- 
vision amongst  ourselves. 

Take  another  example — one  of  direct  falsehood — what  Snnk- 
speare  calls  the  "lie  direct;"  and  not,  as  in  the  case  of  the  giuis  I 
jury,  the  ''lie  by  equivocation."  An  advertisement  has  appeared 
in  the  Dublin  papers,  stating  that  a  meeting  of  the  Protestant 
freemen,  freeholders,  and  inhabitants  of  Dublin  had  takeu  place. 
Now,  this  means,  and -was  intended  to  mean,  a  public  meeting, 
at  which  every  such  Protestant  might  have  attended.  But  was 
there  any  such  meeting?  There  certainly  was  not.  Everybody 
knows  there  was  not.  It  is  a  falsehood — false  as  God  is  true — 
a  falsehood  signed  with  the  classic  name  of  Abraham  Bradley 
King,  Lord  Mayor,  but  not  the  less  unfounded.  The  noble, 
grand  Lord  Mayor  just  certifies  an  untruth.  He  might  and 
probably  had  a  parlour  or  dining  room  meeting,  but  it  was  no 
more  what  he  says — a  meeting  of  the  Protestants  of  Dublin,  than 
it  was  a  meeting  of  the  Jews  of  Frankfort.  This  untruth,  how- 
ever, is  of  advantage  to  our  enemies.  Why?  Because  we  have 
left  it  uncontradicted — because  we  have  been  so  busy  in  quar- 
relling with  one  another  about  Mr.  Lawless's  abstract  censures, 
fhat  we  have  not  had  leisure  to  mark  with  our  public  contempt 
the  scandalous  and  impudent  falsehoods  with  which  we  are  a«- 
sailal. 

But  let  us  return  to  our  ovn  affairs.  Let  us  return  to  the 
consideration  of  the  state  of  the  Catholics'  rights.  Let  us  make 
peace  amongst  ourselves  and  carry  on  the  war  of  words  only 
*-ith  our  enemies.  All  our  vigilance,  all  our  zeal,  all  cur  ac- 
tivity, are  necessary  for  our  protection.  We  cannot  afford  to 
squander  or  exhaust  any  part  of  them  in  a  quarrel  amongst  our- 
«elves.  You  have  passed  your  vote  of  censure — be  content  with 
it,  allow  us  merely  to  qualify  it,  by  excluding  the  possibility  of 
any  person  being  deemed  to  come  within  it,  who  ought  nrt  to 
do  so.  Those  are  persons  whose  faith  was  pledged  previous  to 
your  resolutions  of  last  spring  and  summer.  You  admit  that 
such  persons  are  not  the  object  of  your  censure.  All  we  require 
is,  that  you  should  declare  the  fact  to  be  so.  If  your  sword  af- 
terwards be  wielded  by  private  malignity  out  of  this  Board,  the 
declaration  we  require  will  serve  for  a  shieiu,  co-extensive  with 
your  censure,  to  those  who  are  entitled  to  wear  that  protection. 

I  can  assure  you,  that  my  esteemed  friend  (Mr.  Lalor)  desires 
no  other,  nor  would  any  man  be  his  friend  who  sought  anything 
further.  All  he  desires  KS  for  the  honour  of  the  Board  itself, 
that  it  should  not  be  said  that  you  censured  him  for  observing 

K 


138  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

the  promise  in  which  he  had  pledged  the  honour  of  an  Irish  gen- 
tleman. By  this  means  you  will  vindicate  the  Board  from  a  ca- 
lumny, not  less  actively  circulated  for  being  unfounded,  and  you 
will  restore  that  harmony  and  good  temper  amongst  us,  which 
are  so  necessary  for  our  preservation  at  this  perilous  junction. 
1  do  therefore  conjure  gentlemen,  in  the  name  of  that  afflicted 
country  which  has  so  many  ardent  and  affectionate  votaries  in 
this  room,  to  waive  all  matters  of  form,  and  let  us  now,  at  once, 
adopt  a  resolution  of  admitted  truth  and  necessary  conciliation. 
Let  us  think  that  poor  Ireland,  goaded  and  distressed,  wants  all 
our  attention.  Let  us  sacrifice  every  angry  feeling — turn  from 
the  past  with  the  temper  of  forgiving  kindness,  and  to  the  future 
with  all  the  firmness  which  will  result  alone  from  unanimity  in 
our  own  body ;  continue  divided  and  our  cause  is  lost  for  ever. 

This  speech  is  reported  to  have  made  a  powerful  impression. 

The  result,  after  some  explanatory  speeches  from  persons  who  had  supported  the  vote  ol 
censure,  was  the  unanimous  carrying  of  Dr.  Dromgoole's  resolution. 


CATHOLIC  ASCENDANCY. 

THE  aggregate  nweting,  of  wh.ch  Mr.  O'Connell  had  given  notice,  WM  definitively  fixed  f<\ 
ruesday»  the  15th  of  December,  on  which  day  it  accordingly  took  place  in  Fishamble  street 
tnontra 

The  first  six  resolutions  hew  passed  bore  reference  to  the  preparation  and  presentation 
of  the  Cacholic  petition  to  both  houses  early  in  the  next  session  ;  and  also  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  an  address  to  Mr.  Hely  Hutchinson,  expressive  of  Catholic  feeling  towards  him. 

The  seventh,  eighth,  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  referred,  in  indignant  terms,  and  with 
itrongly  worded  contradictions,  to  allegations  in  recent  addresses  of  grand  juries  (city  of 
Dublin,  Ac.)  charging  the  Catholics  "  with  disaffection— with  entertaining  disguised  aur. 
iecret  views,  and  with  an  intention  to  obtain  a  Catholic  ascendancy." 

Then  followed  thanks  to  Sheriff  Harty,  for  his  conduct  in  his  office ;  and,  as  usual,  to  the 
Protestants  who  had  attended,  in  particular  to  Counsellors  Finlay  and  Walsh,  for  their 
Beeches. 

On  the  resolution  respecting  Mr.  Hutchinson  being  put  from  the  chair,  there  was,  as  th* 
newspapers  inform  us,  "  a  loud  and  general  c*il  for  Mr.  O'Connell,  and  when  he  came  for- 
ward he  was  greeted  for  several  minutes  with  the  most  enthusiastic  plaudits." 

Mr.  O'Connell  commenced  with  a  v«sry  warm  eulogium  on  Mr.  Hutchinson,  and  dwelt  at 
•oine  length  upon  the  loss  of  his  election.  We  take  up  the  report  of  his  speech,  where  h« 
commenced  to  deal  with  the  recent  exhibitions  of  tLeir  euemies. 

The  meetings  in  some  of  the  counties  where  resolutions,  hos- 
tile to  us,  have  been  passed,  cannot  properly  be  called  Protestors 
meetings.  I  say  properly,  because,  although  the  parties  wh* 
were  there  prominent  assumed  the  denomination  of  Protestants, 
taey  were,  in  reality,  of  ro  religion  at  all,  except,  indeed,  in  so 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  139 

fur  as  might  give  the  means  of  carrying  on  a  base  traffic,  and 
turning  the  profession  of  it  into  money.     I  shall  not  think  it 
necessary  to  name  the  people  to  whom  I  allude,  for  I  am  quite 
sure  you  will  agree  with  me  that  their  names  are  of  no  very  high 
importance.     If  one  instance  might  be  given,  and  cne  as  insig- 
nificant as  need  be,  there  was  John,  Earl  of  Aldborough.     (Hear 
and  laughter.)     His  lordship  was  very  active  in  defence  of  the 
church,  and  he  was  by  no  means  to  be  blamed ;  on  the  contrary, 
he  deserved  the  greatest  commendations  for  having  c^rne  forwari 
so  boldly,  and  oliered  himself  as  a  martyr  for  the  good  of  tb* 
church  !     Such  men  honourad  the  cause  they  supported  (laugh- 
ter), and  the  cause,  in  its  turn,  honoured  them  just  as  much. 

In  Dublin,  the  sixteen  grand  jurymen  who  had  signed  the  re- 
solutions against  the  Catholics  might  have  been  bought  (he  was 
going  to  say  might,  perhaps,  be  sold)  by  those  worthier  seven 
who  have  refused  their  signatures.  But  he  was  not  going  to 
waste  time  with  the  men,  it  was  with  their  resolutions  and  peti- 
tions that  he  had  more  properly  to  do,  although,  in  truth,  it  was 
little  better  than  a  waste  of  time  to  deal  even  with  them.  (Hear 
hear.) 

These  resolutions  and  petitions  displayed  a  glorious  continu- 
ance of  the  system  under  which  the  ministry,  which  had  fostered 
their  rankness,  had  begun  its  career— the  same  barefaced  r.nu 
jrnpudent  falsehood — the  same  meanness  and  cunning.    To  that 
dystem  the  majority  of  one,  which  they  had  obtained  last  session 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  was  solely  attributable.     (Hear,  hear.) 
They  had,  in  their  official  paper,  in  the  Moniteur  of  the  ministry, 
published  a  falsehood — a  foul  and  calumnious  falsehood — imput- 
ing to  the  Catholics  a  conduct  disgraceful  and  mean  as  their 
own  ;  and  by  this  had  they  operated  upon  the  unsuspecting 
minds  who  would  otherwise*  have  voted  with  what  turned  out  to 
be  the  minority.     To  the  same  base  system  recourse  was  had 
now.     The  London  Courier,  the  same  paper  I  have  alluded  to, 
has,  in  its  last  number,  a  paragraph,  stating  that  the  "  Third 
Part  of  the  Statement  of  the  Penal  Laws,  aggrieving  the  Catho- 
lics of  Ireland,"  had  been  received  in  London  ;  and  that  it  con- 
tained a  full  and  faithful  account  of  the  views  of  the  Catholic 
body.    They  already  knew  that  this  was  a  pure  and  mischievous 
falsehood  ;  the  so  called  "Third  Part  of  the  Statement,  <fec.,"  was 
a  production  of  some  of  the  hired  writers  of  the  Castle,  and  was 
only  to  be  found  in  the  shop  of  Jack  Gifiard,  or  some  of  hk 
compeers  in  corruption  and  bigotry. 

But  to  return  to  the  resolutions  of  the  meetings.     They  had 


140  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

brought  forward  various  accusations  against  the  Catholics,  and 
to  one  of  them  I,  for  one,  am  perfectly  ready  to  plead  guilty. 
They  have  said  that  what  we  once  asked  as  a  boon  and  as  a 
favour,  we  now  demand  as  a  right ;  and  they  say  well.  We  do  sc. 
(Hear,  hear.)  I  would  take  Emancipation  in  whatever  shape 
it  came  j  if  it  was  even  hrld  out  as  are  the  alms  of  a  beggar,  I 
should  accept  it.  But  should  I  for  that  the  less  consider  it  as  a 
right  which  was  my  due,  and  which  ought  to  have  been  obtained 
by  insisting  on  it  as  such  ?  Certainly  not.  I  am  glad  from  my 
soul  that  they  admit  this — that  they  allow  we  consider  it  as  a 
right.  -  For  when  they  allow  that  we  demand  it  as  a  right  for 
ourselves,  do  they  not  likewise  allow  that  we  grant  it  as  a  right 
to  others  ?  ^nd  they  themselves  do  away  with  the  foul  calumny, 
that  our  religion  leads  us  to  believe  that  no  one  should  have 
equal  right  with  professors  of  it.  If  religious  liberty  is  right 
to  one,  it  is  a  right  to  all.  When  we,  therefore,  say  it  is  a  right 
to  us,  we  allow  that  the  same  right  belongs  to  the  Quaker,  the 
Presbyterian,  the  Dissenter.  We  do  not  ask  it  as  relying  on 
our  numbers,  our  strength,  or  the  wealth  of  our  body ;  we  come 
forward  on  the  broad  principles,  that  political  equality  is  the 
right  of  men  of  all  religions  ;  and  this  our  enemies  allow ;  let 
them  not,  therefore,  shrink  from  the  consequence. 

But  if  they  have  said  the  truth  in  this  instance,  they  have 
amply  compensated  it  in  others  by  the  most  unblushing  false- 
hoods. They  have  thrown  out  imputations  in  their  resolutions 
which,  I  am  sure,  they  themselves  are  conscious  of  being  grossly 
calumnious,  and  which  they  would  not  dare,  even  in  terms  the 
most  distant,  to  insinuate  in  private  life  to  any  Catholic  gentle- 
man in  Ireland. 

They  have  said  that  the  Catholics  are  disaffected.  Yet  how 
often  have  these  Catholics  sealed  their  loyalty  with  their  blood  ! 
If  the  Prince  Regent  has  forgot  Ireland  in  his  speech,  his  ene- 
mies might  remind  him  of  her  by  the  respect  which  they  pay 
him  in  consequence  of  the  resources  he  derives  from  her.  Lid 
not  Vimiem — did  not  Talavera  and  Badajoz  give  proofs  of  the 
loyalty  of  the  Catholics  ?  at  Salamanaca,  was  it  not  felt  in  the 
terrors  of  rout  and  defeat  by  every  flying  Frenchman  ?  It  has 
been  amply  proved.  And  if  Britain  would  know  the  benefit  she 
derives  from  the  proof  of  it,  she  may  have  an  idea  from  but  one 
solitary  instance.  Before  the  late  removal  of  part  of  the  Penal 
Laws,  I  myself  had  no  less  than  forty  relations  in  the  military 
service  of  France,  from  an  inspector-general  of  infantry  down  to 
\  lieutenant ;  1  have  now  none  :  but  in  every  victory  which 


DAMEL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  14i 

graces  the  military  annals  of  the  British  empire,  I  have  to  trem- 
ble in  perusing  the  Gazette,  lest  I  meet  among  the  lists  of  the 
honourable  dead,  the  name  of  some  dear  and  respected  relative. 
Sixteen  are  at  this  moment  serving  in  the  Peninsula.  If  such 
be  the  case  only  in  one  instance,  and  resulting  only  from  the  re- 
moval of  a  part  of  those  laws,  what  might  not  be  expected  to  the 
interests  of  Britain,  were  the  same  benefit  extended  to  all,  and 
the  hopes  of  our  youth  allowed,  in  every  instance,  to  be  bound 
only  by  their  merits ! 

They  accuse  us  of  a  wish  for  Catholic  ascendancy.  Their  in- 
consistency in  the  accusation  is  glaring  and  ridiculous.  They 
first  blame  us  for  asking  Emancipation  as  a  right ;  and  they 
then  say  that  we  are  desirous  of  a  Catholic  ascendancy.  Doet 
not  the  demanding  Emancipation  as  a  right  imply  that  at 
equality  of  privileges  is  the  right  of  every  citizen,  be  his  religion 
what  it  may  ?  And  does  not  the  wish  for  a  Catholic  ascendancy 
imply,  that  we  think  no  man  ought  to  be  on  an  equal  footing 
with  the  Catholic  ?  The  absurdity  is  manifest :  they  accuse  us 
of  saying  that  an  equality  of  civil  privileges  is  the  right  of  every 
citizen,  of  whatever  persuasion  ;  then  they  accuse  us  of  saying, 
that  there  should  be  no  such  thing  as  an  equality  of  privileges ; 
and  they  condemn  us  for  both. 

But  their  absurdities  sliall  not  be  the  ground  on  which  we 
shall  defend  ourselves.  The  accusation  is  contrary  to  our  feelings 
— to  our  opinions;  we  have  already  expressed  our  disapprobation 
of  any  connexion  subsisting  between  government  and  the  Catho- 
lic prelates ;  and  I  am  free  to  say,  that  there  is  no  event  which  I 
should  consider  more  fatal  to  the  liberties  of  Ireland  than  what 
they  have  called  a  Catholic  ascendancy.  Our  prelates  would  no 
longer  be  the  respectable  characters  in  which  we  now  revere 
everything  that  is  virtuous  or  respectable  ;  they  would,  at  least, 
have  more  temptations  to  become  otherwise ;  and  whenever  they 
should  degenerate  into  the  tool  of  the  minister,  then  should  I 
consider  the  doom  of  Ireland  as  sealed  for  ever. 

There  is,  I  am  sure,  no  man  of  education  who  hears  me,  that 
does  not  join  in  the  opinion  that  1  have  offered;  and  there  is  none 
who,  even  in  the  warmest  moments  of  enthusiasm  for  the  pros- 
perity of  those  professing  the  same  religion  with  himself,  that 
can  be  charged  with  having  ever  uttered  a  word  inconsistent  with 
it.  I  do  not  refer  our  enemies  to  the  resolutions  of  our  meeting?* ; 
but  let  them  go  to  the  most  incautious  speech  that  ever  was  de- 
livered at  any  of  them — let  them  scrape  together  words  uttered 
in  tho  heat  of  debate,  even  then  I  defy  them  to  find  a  sentence 


142  SELECT   SPEECHES   O* 

that  will  bear  them  out  in  their  accusations.  It  is  not  necessary 
for  them,  after  being  foiled  in  the  search,  to  betake  themselves 
to  conjecture,  and  to  build  a  conclusion,  on  their  own  supposi- 
tions, of  our  wishes ;  for  well  they  know,  that  we  have  too  much 
of  Irishmen  about  us  to  conceal  them,  did  we  entertain  them. 

So  far,  indeed,  from  wishing  for  ascendancy,  we  do  not  desire 
that  we  shall  be  necessarily  taken  into  any  office  or  political  em- 
ployment whatever ;  all  that  we  insist  upon  is,  an  enlargement 
of  the  prerogative  of  the  crown,  by  which  his  Majesty  may  be 
allowed  a,  wider  range  in  search  of  virtue,  talent,  and  respecta- 
bility, among  his  subjects,  in  selecting  the  offices  necessary  in 
his  government. 

There  is  another  circumstance  of  much  importance,  which  I 
think  it  necessary  to  call  your  attention  to.  Every  body  recol- 
lects that  the  last  parliament  was  pledged — solemnly  pledged  to 
the  serious  and  immediate  consideration  of  our  claims.  The 
present  parliament  is  completely  bound  by  the  promise  of  the 
ormer ;  it  is  still  the  imperial  parliament,  though  a  few,  and 
very  few,  indeed,  of  the  persons  composing  it  have  been  changed ; 
I  should  hope  it  will  recollect  this ;  it  would  be  a  most  truly 
gross  and  miserable  chicanery  if  it  were  to  attempt  a  recantation, 
knowing,  as  we  do,  that  not  even  the  whole  of  the  new  members 
amount  to  near  the  majority,  which  had  the  wisdom  to  decide 
on  giving  us  a  hearing.  There  is  a  solemn  and  deliberate  treaty 
— a  direct  and  unequivocal  pledge ;  it  is  true,  we  have  known 
treaties  violated ;  and  it  is,  unfortunately,  full  as  well  attested, 
arid  that  to  our  own  knowledge,  that  pledges  have  been  left  un- 
redeemed. Let  them  recollect  the  terrible  confusion  that  ensued 
when  a  former  pledge  was  revoked*  I  shall  quote  an  authority 
for  them,  and  one  which  they  will  be  likely  to  respect,  that  of 
Sir  Lawrence  Parsons,  now  Lord  Ross,  as  to  the  probable  conse- 
quences which  he  thought  were  likely  to  result  from  retracting 
that  pledge — consequences  far  more  dreadful  than  I  shall  either 
look  for  or  suppose. 

When  Lord  Fitzwilliam  came  over  to  this  country  as  chief 
governor,  he  gave  a  pledge  for  the  repeal  of  the  penal  laws,  when 
by  one  of  those  changes,  not  unfrequent  in  the  Pitt  administra- 
tion, the  pledge  was  left  unredeemed,  and  that  patriotic  earl  was 
recalled.  When  the  subject,  however,  came  before  the  House  of 
Commons,  Sir  Lawrence  Parsons  delivered  his  sentiments,  and 
we  have,  those  remarkable  expressions  in  the  report  of  his  speech. 
It  is  impossible  to  assert  that  it  gives  precisely  his  words,  but  if 
any  report  be  correct,  I  should  suppose  this  to  be,  for  it  seem? 


DASJF.J:  erONNEM.,  EPQ.,  M,r.  143 


to  bear  great  marks  of  care  and  attention.  The  report  states, 
that  Sir  Lawrence  Parsons  said  in  the  House  of  Commons,  "  if  a 
resistance  to  any  thing  would  be  productive  of  evil  consequences, 
it  was  that  against  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  the  prospects 
srhich  have  been  held  out  to  them  ;  that  if  the  demon  of  dark- 
ness should  come  from  the  infernal  regions  upon  earth,  and  throw 
i  fire-brand  among  the  people,  he  could  not  do  more  to  promote 
mischief."  I  hope  some  one  will  remind  him  of  this  part  of  his 
speech  at  the  King's  County  meeting,  which  I  hear  he  is  to  at- 
tend to-morrow.  He  continues,  "he  had  never  heard  of  a  parallel 
to  the  infatuation  of  the  minister  ;"  he  may  see  one  now  ;  "and 
if  he  persisted,  every  man  must  have  five  or  six  dragoons  in  his 
kouse."  f  ;i 

And  it  was  true  ;  for  in  many  houses  it  was  necessary  for  the 
owners  to  haye  five  or  six  dragoons,  and  the  whole  country  was 
thrown  into  confusion.  I  hope  and  trust  that  no  such  conse- 
quence will  ever  again  occur,  though  sure  I  am  that  such  is  the 
desire  of  the  British  minister.  He  wishes  (to  make  use  cf  the 
words  of  Christopher  Hely  Hutchinson)  that  you  should  draw 
the  sword,  to  afford  him  an  opportunity  of  throwing  away  the 
scabbard.  Certain  he  was,  that  at  this  very  moment,  there  was 
a  foul  conspiracy  to  draw  the  warm-hearted,  but  unthinking 
people  of  Ireland  into  a  sham,  plot,  to  give  an  opportunity  of 
wreaking  vengeance  on  her  dearest  sons. 

Here  he  must  warn  his  countrymen  to  abstain  and  shun,  with 
the  greatest  caution,  every  inducement  which  might  be  held  out 
to  them  for  disturbances  similar  to  these  he  had  alluded  to. 
Nothing  would  more  thwart  the  progress  of  their  cause;  nothing, 
he  suspected,  could,  for  that  reason,  be  more  satisfactory  to  the 
ministry,  than  just  so  much  of  it  as  would  give  a  pretence  for  a 
suspension  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  act,  and  some  other  violences 
of  the  same  description,  together  with  a  total  refusal  of  the 
claims  of  the  Catholics.  Ireland  had  already  been  taught  to 
beware  ;  her  lesson  had  been  stamped  in  letters  of  the  best  blood 
pf  her  children,  and  assuredly  now  she  wouM  avoid  the  snare 
which  was  intended  for  her. 

That  such  was  the  wish  of  certain  persons  in  power,  he  could 
not  doubt.  Keegan's  plot  was  not  yet  to  be  forgotten  ;  occur- 
rences of  the  same  kind  had  been  discovered  in  Kilkenny  and 
Limerick.  What,  too,  was  the  reason  that  the  garrison  of  Dublin 
was  under  orders  to  be  in  immediate  readiness  to  march?  Why 
were  the  matches  kept  lighted?  Why  preparations  made  for 
attack  or  defence  ?  Was  it  not  to  inspire  credulous  people  with 


144  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

» h<3  idea  that  there  was  danger  of  an  insurrection ,  and  to  induct 
others,  -who  thought  their  wrongs  almost  called  for  it,  to  believe 
that  they  might  soon  hope  to  be  joined  by  others,  as  injured 
aud  more  determined  than  themselves  :  keeping  alive,  on  the 
one  side,  the  fire  of  hatred,  and  on  the  other,  the  desire  ai-d  hope 
of  revenge. 

But  the  people  of  Ireland  have  too  much  good  sense  to  be 
misled  by  such  phantoms,  by  such  paltry  contrivances.  They 
see  that  a  pretext  is  only  wanting  to  crush  them  and  their  claims 
for  ever,  and  cancel  the  bond  in  the  best  blood  of  their  country ; 
and  they  despise  the  nefarious  attempts  that  are  made  upon 
them.  They  feel,  too,  that  their  cause  is  advancing ;  nothing 
can  prevent  its  progress.  Ireland,  in  the  meantime,  is  tranquil, 
and  awaits  the  result  with  confidence  and  hope. 

The  Prince  Regent,  in  hii  speech  from  the  throne,  alluded  to 
the  disturbances  in  England.  What  a  pity  that  he  had  not  a 
Professor  Von  Feinaigle  to  recal  to  his  recollection,  that  he  had 
five  millions  of  peaceable  sulyects  in  Ireland,  who  bore  their 
oppressions  with  fortitude,  aud  who  could  not  be  goaded  into 
disloyalty,  even  by  the  foul  and  false  calumnies  which  were 
heaped  upon  them.  No  ;  they  had  proved,  and  they  would  eoa 
tinue  to  prove,  that  the  depraved  and  contemptible  fabricators 
of  those  tales  had  mistaken  their  aim,  and  that  they  could  no 
longer  practise  upon  the  credulity  of  their  intended  victim* 
How  much  it  is  to  be  lamented,  that  his  Royal  Highness  had 
not  some  person  to  remind  him  of  Ireland  ;  and  to  point  out 
the  contrast  which  so  strikingly  exists  between  the  quiet  and 
profound  pauce  which  reigns  in  it,  and  that  tumult  in  the  othet 
island  which  he  thought  it  proper  to  notice  in  his  speech. 

I  sliAU  now  conclude,  entreating  your  pardon  for  having 
trespassed  so  long  upon  your  time,  and  returning  yon  my  graw- 
fbl  thanks  for  the  many  marks  of  your  favour  which  you  have 
been  pleased  to  confer  upon  me  ;  and  particularly  for  the  atten- 
tion and  kindness  with  which  you  have  heard  me  this  day.  1 
also  express  ray  most  entire  concurrence  m  the  resolutions 
which  you  are  about  to  adopt.  (The  whole  of  this  speech  was 
received  with  the  most  marked  applause.  Mr.  O'Counell  was 
frequently  interrupted  by  the  cheering,  and  the  acclamation* 
continued  long  after  he  had  ceased.) 


PAMKL  O'COSNELL,  ESQ.,  M.t.  1&& 

HO'GH    FITSPATRICK— LIBEL. 

[APPLICATION  TO  BET  ABIDS  VERDICT.] 

4l>  Hugh  Fltipatrick,  publisher  of  Scully's  "  Statement  of  the  Penal  Laws, "  having,  for  no 
alleged  libellous  noto  in  that  work,  been  prosecuted  and  found  guilty,  Mr»  O'ConnelL  OK 
the  si  sting  of  th«  court  the  following  day  (Thursday,  February  11,  1812),  rose  to  make  ax. 
application  to  net  aside  the  verdict  which  had  been  obtained  in  this  case,  a-s  originating 
from  the  misdirection  of  the  learned  judges  who  had  charged  the  jury,  and  as  being  against 
law  and  evidence. 

The  Attorney-General  just  came  into  court,  when  Mr.  O'Connell  had  proceeded  thus  far, 
and  tailed  on  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  to  appear  in  person. 

Mr.  Pitepatrick  Immediately  came  into  court,  and  the  Attorney-General  moved  that  ho 
should  Wien  stand  committed. 

Mr.  O'Connell  observed  that  such  a  motion  on  the  part  of  the  Eight  Hon.  Attorney  - 
General  was  just  what  had  been  expected. 

The  court  complied  with  the  Attorney-General's  motion,  and  ordered  that  Mr  Fltzpatrlcx 
ahould  stand  committed. 

Mr.  O'Connell  then  resumed. 

He  said  lie  made  his  motion  upon  the  grounds  alleged  in  the 
notice,  which  had  been  served  on  the  other  side.  The  first  of 
which  was  the  misdirection  of  the  learned  Judge  who  had  charged 
the  jury;  and  the  second  ground  was,  that  it  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  stand,  inasmuch  as  it  was  contrary  to  law,  and  against 
evidence. 

He  said  that  in  case  this  motion  should  be  refused,  it  was  his 
intention  to  submit  a  further  one  in  arrest  of  judgment,  grounded 
on  the  pleadings  alone;  but  as  the  two  motions  were  perfectly 
distinct,  and  that  the  second  one  would  not  become  necessary 
unless  the  first  was  refused,  he  should  confine  himself  solely  to 
that  which  he  had  for  its  object — the  setting  aside  the  verdict. 

Beside  these  two  grounds  which  he  had  mentioned,  there  were 
also  two  others — viz.,  that  the  defendant  had  been  deprived  of 
the  benefit  of  a  second  counsel  being  permitted  to  address  the 
jury,  although  he  had  produced  evidence,  which  Mr.  O'Connell 
contended  was  his  right ;  and  that  the  information  charged  the 
defendant  with  having  libelled  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  and  his 
Majesty's  ministers  in  Ireland,  acting  under  his  authority,  when, 
.n  fact,  if  any  imputation  of  the  kind  could  be  attributed  to  the 
note  which  formed  what  was  termed  the  libel  at  all,  it  must  have 
been  intended  to  allude  tc  those  who  had  acted,  not  those  who 
were  now  acting ;  for  every  person  knew  that  those  nondescripts, 
who  were  entitled  his  Majesty's  ministers,  had  been  changed 
both  between  the  execution  of  Barry,  and  the  publication  of  the 
book ;  and  again,  between  the  publication  and  the  filing  of  the 
ex-ojficio  information  by  the  Attorney- General. 


146 


BELECT  SPEECHES  OP" 


The  information  had  been  filed  in  Michaelmas  term ;  it  con- 
tained two  counts,  the  second  of  which  was  wholly  out  of  the 
question.  The  word  farmer  had  been  omitted;  and  in  a  prose- 
cution of  this  nature  the  defendant  was  fully  warranted  in  taking 
advantage  of  anything  in  his  favour;  when  the  point  had  been- 
made  at  the  trial,  it  was  not  contested.  The  second  count  was, 
therefore,  wholly  out  of  the  case. 

This  information  stated  that  Hugh  Fitzpatrick  being  a  person 
of  a  bad,  malicious,  and  wicked  disposition,  <fec.,  and  desiring  to 
stir  up  and  create  a  rebellion,  <fco.,  did,  on  the  19th  of  June  last, 
publish  a  libel,  a  false  and  scandalous  libel,  of  and  concerning 
his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  (fee.,  and  of  and  concerning  his 
Majesty's  ministers  in  Ireland,  acting  under  the  authority  of  the 
said  Lord  Lieutenant,  &c.  It  then  recites  the  libel  itself,  which 
is  of  the  following  tenor : — 

"At  the  summer  assizes  of  Kilkenny,  in  1810,  one  Barry  was  con- 
victed of  ^  capital  offence,  for  which  he  was  afterwards  executed.  This 
man's  case  was  truly  tragical — he  was  wholly  innocent — was  a  respect- 
able Catholic  farmer  in  the  county  of  WateFford.  His  innocence  $vas 
fully  established  in  the  interval  between  his  conviction  and  execution, 
yet  he  was  hanged,  publicly  protesting  his  innocence !  There  wsro 
some  shocking  circumstances  attending  this  case,  which  the  Duke  of 
Richmond's  administration  may  yet  be  invited  to  explain  to  parliament." 

After  the  libel,  close  follows  the  inuendo,  "  meaning  that  the 
said  Barry  did  not  obtain  pardon,  because  he  was  a  Catholic,  al- 
though his  innocence  was  fully  proved  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
said  Duke  of  Richmond,  <kc." 

Such  was  the  information  which  had  been  filed  by  hrs  Ma- 
jesty's Attorney,  upon  which  a  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  guilty, 
and  in  consequence  of  which  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  then  stood  in  actual 
custody. 

The  first  of  these  objections  to  allowing  the  verdict  to  stand, 
turned  upon  what  was  conceived  to  be  the  misdirection  of  the 
learned  judge's  charge,  which  had  left  it  to  the  jury  to  decide 
upon  the  truth  and  applicability  of  the  last  inuendo,  which  was 
described,  as  the  meaning  of  the  passage,  that  the  said  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant had  been  advised  by  his  ministers  to  refuse  pardon  to  a 
portion  where  innocence  had  been  made  apparent  after  his  trial 
and  cou'lemnation,  and  that  such  pardon  had  been  accordingly 
refused  in  the  face  of  a  conviction  of  innocence,  and  solely  because 
he  was  a  Catholic. 

This  inuendo  contained  much  new  matter  which  had  not 
spoken  of  before. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  X.r,  147 

Of  all  this,  said  Mr.  O'Connell  there  had  been  no  previous 
averment ;  the  information  contained  only  an  assertion  of  the 
intention  being  to  vilify.  There  waB  not  a  word  in  the  libel  con- 
cerning advice  received  by  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  or  of  any  action 
of  his  in  consequence  of  it ;  yet,  that  such  averment  was  necessary 
there  was  the  strongest  authority  to  prove.  In  the  case  of  the 
King  against  Home,  where  the  opinion  of  the  twelve  judges  of 
England  was  asked  by  the  House  of  Lords,  and  was  delivered 
by  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  De  Grey,  his  lordship  states  (reported, 
Cooper,  page  683)  that  where  a  libel  is  of  such  a  nature,  either 
from  its  being  ironical,  or  from  having  an  allusion  to  circum- 
stances not  generally  known,  that  the  words  in  which  it  is  given, 
do  not,  of  themselves,  convey  all  that  is  meant  and  understood, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  things  so  understood  and  not  expressed, 
should  be  laid  before  the  jury;  but  that  a  jury  cannot  take  cog- 
nizance of  them  unless  they  be  upon  the  record,  where  they  can- 
not be  unless  by  an  averment ;  so  that  either  the  charge  of  the 
Court,  upon  the  trial  of  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  must  have  been  wrong, 
or  the  opinion  of  the  twelve  English  judges,  expressed  by  Lord 
De  Grey,  must  be  so.  It  could  not  be  said  that  the  inuendoes 
themselves  were,  in  reality,  averments ;  an  authority  (2nd  Sal- 
keld,  page  315)  was  perfectly  conclusive  on  this  subject ;  an  inu- 
endo  being  there  defined  negatively  as  not  being  an  averment, 
but  on  tha  contrary,  a  production,  id  est,  <fec. 

It  being  thus  ruled  that  a  jury  could  not  take  cognizance  of 
the  matter  contained  in  an  inuendo,  without  there  having  been 
a  previous  averment,  it  followed  that  no  evidence  in  support  of 
the  inuendo,  in  the  present  case,  should  have  been  allowed  to  go 
to  the  jury,  or,  if  it  had  been  so  allowed,  that  the  judge  should 
have  desired  them  to  discharge  it  entirely  from  their  minds  pre- 
vious to  giving  a  verdict.  This,  however,  had  not  been  done ;  and, 
on  the  contrary,  the  Court  had  desired  the  jury  to  consider  the  in- 
formation precisely  as  if  the  averments  had  been  regularly  made ; 
it  was  universally  allowed  that  averments  were  necessary  to  let 
in  evidence  of  meaning,  even  where  such  evidence  could  be  pro- 
duced. But  here,  in  point  of  fact,  the  Crown  did  not  go  into  any 
evidence  to  show  the  meaning,  or  prove  the  inuendoes;  and,  with 
great  respect,  he  conceived  that  the  jury  should  have  been  told, 
there  was  no  evidence  in  support  of  the  inuendoes;  and  direct- 
ing them  to  find  the  truth  and  applicability  of  those  inuendoes, 
there  being  no  averments,  was  travelling  out  of  the  limits  pre- 
scribed by  the  la-*,  and  recognized  by  Chief  Justice  De  Grey  and 
the  twelve  judcres  of  England,  and,  therefore,  he  conceived  that 


148  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

the  charge  of  the  learned  judge  had  been  erroneous,  and  contrnry 
to  law. 

The  next  ground  to  which  he  should  call  the  attention  of  the 
Court  was,  that  there  existed  a  material  variation  as  to  a  matter 
of  fact,  between  the  evidence  given  or  admitted,  and  the  infor- 
mation. The  information  stated,  that  the  libel  had  been  pub- 
lished of,  and  concerning  the  persons  acting  as  his  Majesty's 
ministers  in  Ireland  ;  that  is,  of  the  persons  so  acting  at  the 
time  of  the  publication  of  the  libel.  Now,  it  was  obvious  that 
this  was  an  anachronism  of  the  grossest  kind.  The  circumstance 
which  gave  an  occasion  to  the  libel  had  taken  place  in  1809 ;  the 
book  had  been  published  in  1812,  and  the  ministers  of  these  two 
periods  were  entirely  different.  How,  then,  could  the  libel  be 
said  to  regard  the  ministry  existing  at  the  time  of  its  publication  t 
It  was  impossible  that  it  could  not  exist  without  entirely  vitiat- 
ing the  information. 

He  now  came  to  the  third  ground  for  the  motion,  and  upon 
that  he  should  be  still  more  brief  than  he  had  been  on  the  other 
two ;  it  related  to  the  trifling  advantage  which  he  might  have 
derived  from  being  allowed  a  counsel  to  speak  to  evidence.  It  was 
very  confidently  relied  upon,  that  there  could  not  exist  any  doubt 
as  to  the  right  of  the  defendant,  evidence  having  been  produced 
on  both  sides.  The  objection  upon  the  trial  came  from  a  quarter 
to  which  no  reply  could  be  made,  namely,  the  Court ;  had  it 
been  otherwise,  it  might  have  been  easily  and  satisfactorily  show**, 
that  the  reason  given  for  this  decision  did  not  apply. 

Formerly,  it  had  been  the  practice,  if  the  defendant  had  evi- 
dence, to  allow  him  the  benefit  of  counsel  to  speak  to  that  evi- 
dence. Thf  judges  of  that  court  (the  King's  Bench),  however 
had  thought  proper  to  alter  this  practice ;  they  determined  that 
no  second  counsel  should  be  heard  upon  the  part  of  the  defen- 
dant, and  they  gave  as  the  reason  for  coming  to  this  decision, 
that  the  defendant's  counsel,  in  opening  his  case,  speaks  to  the 
plaintiff's  evidence,  and  observes  upon  his  own.  It  was  also  a 
part  of  the  rule,  that  unless  the  defendant  goes  into  evidence, 
the  plaintiff  ha*  no  right  to  be  heard  by  a  second  counsel ;  yet 
the  very  Court  he  was  then  addressing,  and  which  had  made  the 
rule,  had  heard  counsel  for  the  crown  twice  in  the  case  of  the 
King  v.  Kirwan,  although  there  had  been  no  evidence  produced 
by  the  defendant.  It  must  naturally  be  supposed,  that  the 
Court  had  determined,  that  in  civil  cases  no  second  counsel 
should  be  heard,  but  that  criminal  ones  did  not  come  within  tl*e 
rule,  otherwise  it  would  be,  in  fact,  granting  to  the  crown  an 


DANIEL  OVONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  149 

additional  and  necessary  advantage.  Lord  Kenyon,  in  the  case  of 
the  King  v.  Abbington  (1st  Espina,  130.)  condemns  the  practice. 

Considering  that  the  crown  had  the  benefit  of  the  great  and 
unrivalled  talents  of  the  Solicitor-General,  who  was  to  reply,  an 
advantage  which  nothing  could  have  procured  the  defendant,  and 
which  nothing  within  his  power  could  balance,  as  the  learned 
gentleman  who  had  opened  his  case  could  not  be  heard  a  second 
time,  and  that  it  would  have  fallen  to  his  (Mr.  O'Connell's)  lot 
to  have  spoken  to  evidence,  hia  client,  certainly,  had  lost  but  a 
small  advantage  ;  such  as  it  was,  however,  he  had  a  right  to  it  • 
but  the  Court  had  thought  proper  to  over-rule  that  right,  and 
:n  doing  so  had  referred  to  the  case  of  the  King  v.  Kir  wan. 
Coupling  the  decision  in  the  case  referred  to,  with  that  on  the 
late  trial,  it  came  to  this,  that  the  rule  does  apply  to  take  away 
the  advantage  from  the  traverser,  and  that  it  does  not  apply  to 
take  it  away  from  the  crown. 

This  was  a  position  which  he  was  sure  their  lordships  would 
not  think  of  establishing,  and  unless  they  did  so,  the  right  of  his 
client  to  the  benefit  of  a  second  counsel  was  unquestionable  ; 
therefore,  the  denial  of  it  by  the  Court  rendered  the  trial  faulty, 
in  respect  to  the  mannor  in  which  it  had  been  conducted,  and 
consequently  the  result  of  it  nugatory. 

He  had  now  arrived  lit  the  fourth  objection,  and  one  of  much 
importance  ;  it  was,  that  the  jury  had,  upon  the  most  material 
part  of  the  information,  found  the  verdict  without  evidence,  and 
even  contrary  to  evidence.  Mr.  O'Connell  here  read  over  the 
paragraph  forming  the  libel,  and  contended  that  there  had  not 
been  sufficient  evidence  to  connect  any  part  of  it  as  a  libel  with 
the  name  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond.  This  had  been  attempted, 
indeed,  by  connecting  the  circumstance  mentioned  in  the  libel- 
lous note,  with  passages  in  the  text  to  which  a  construction  had 
been  given  favourable  to  the  inference  wished  to  bo  drawn  from 
the  whole.  It  was  first  said  that  the  passages  thus  read,  stated 
that  government  was  influenced  in  granting  pardon  to  criminals. 
or  in  denying  it  by  their  religious  persuasions  ;  and  it  was  then 
concluded  that  the  note  was  intended  to  give  an  instance  of  the 
partiality  alluded  to  in  the  text ;  and  had  the  text  been  examined 
more  clearly,  it  would  have  appeared  that  the  thiug  expressed 
was,  that  Protestant  criminals  had  a  greater  facility  in  procuring 
attestations  of  previous  good  character,  or  of  other  circumstances. 
such  as  usually  entitle  to  pardon,  than  Catholics,  and,  conse- 
quently, that  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  so  far  from  having  been  Ac- 
cused, was  justified  for  grant  ing  pardon  more  frequently  to  the  on« 


1/50  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

than  tlie  other ;  the  note,  then,  being  an  instance  of  what  was 
asserted  in  the  text,  could  not  reflect,  by  any  means,  upon  the 
Lord  Lieutenant.  As  to  the  concluding  part  of  the  note,  which 
stated  that  the  Duke  of  Richmond's  administration  might  yet 
be  invited  to  explain  certain  circumstances  to  parliament,  it  only 
meant  that  the  documents  for  regular  investigation,  being  in 
possession  of  the  ministry,  could  not  be  procured  without  in- 
viting its  aid. 

Had  the  trial  been  had  before  an  unbiassed  jury,  it  was  very 
probable  that  the  result  would  have  been  very  different.  It  was 
very  likely  that  they  would  not  have  been  content  with  the 
mere  assertion  of  the  Attorney-General,  that  the  note  which 
formed  the  subject  of  the  libel  was  intended  to  vilify  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  and  his  Majesty's  ministers  in  Ireland,  acting  under 
his  authority  ;  they  might  possibly  require  an  explanation  of 
who  those  persons,  called  ministers,  actually  were,  before  they 
convicted  a  respectable  and  honest  man  of  libelling  them,  merely 
because  the  Attorney-General  had  thought  fit  to  say  the^were 
libelled. 

It  was  matter  of  Irish  history,  that  when  these  state  prosecutions 
were  carrying  on  against  a  Catholic  of  this  country,  not  one  man 
of  his  own  religion  was  suffered  to  remain  upon  ttie  panel. 

This  had  been  stated  by  the  respectable  and  learned  gentle- 
man who  had  opened  Fitzpatrick's  case,  and  was  not  attempted 
to  be  denied.  It  was  observed,  indeed,  that  one  Catholic  name 
had  happened  to  be  put  upon  the  panel  through  mistake  ;  this 
fault,  however,  was  not  intentional ;  it  had  occurred  by  accident, 
and  no  doubt  the  apology  which  such  a  trespass  required  was 
made.  He  was  not  now  stating  anything  improbable  or  unwar- 
ranted, for  it  was  a  well-known  fact  that  the  persons  who  had 
the  appointment  of  the  jury,  had  given  a  solemn  and  deliberate 
pledge  of  their  dialike  and  hatred  of  Catholics  ;  .and  that  it  was 
to  this  avowed  hostility  to  so  numerous  and  loyal  a  class  of  his 
Majesty's  people,  that  they  owed  their  election.  Thus,  in  a  case 
where  a  Catholic  is  tried  upon  a  charge  of  asserting,  that  the 
Catholic  subjects  of  this  country  have  not  equal  justice  done 
them,  special  care  is  taken  that  not  more  than  one  Catholic  shall 
be  put  upon  the  panel,  and  that  he  shall  not  be  of  the  jury,  but 
that  the  accused  shall  be  tried  by  twelve  men.  of  a  different  per- 
suasion from  himself,  and  some  of  them,  perhaps,  strongly  im- 
bued with  prejudices  unfavourable  to  himself  and  his  religion. 
Had  the  question  been  one  of  property,  such  a  disgraceful  cir- 
cumstance would  not  have  taken  place  in  the  city  of  Dublin, 


DANIEL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  151 

where  as  many  upright,  wealthy,  and  respectable  Catholics  were 
to  be  found,  as  could  be  selected  from  the  ranks  of  their  Pro- 
testant fellow-subjects. 

Mr.  O'Connell  now  shortly  recapitulated  his  arguments,  and  submitted  to  the  court  that 
he  had  made  out  a  case  sufficient  to  induce  their  lordships  to  set  aside  the  verdict ;  and  if 
Mr.  Attorney-General  thought  it  prudent  to  file  a  fresh  information,  that  a  new  investiga- 
tion should  be  entered  into. 

The  Chief  Justice  said,  that  Mr.  O'Connell  had  made  much  move  of  the  argument  tluitt, 
in  the  beginning,  he  thought  could  be  done. 

Motion  refused. 

A  suggestion  was  made  that  it  should  remain  over  till  next  term. 

Mr.  a'Conuell— "  But,  my  lord,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  is  in  actual  custody,  and  it  would  be  veiy 
oppressive  that  he  should  remain  in  confinement  the  whole  of  the  vacation,  when  it  is 
strongly  relied  upon  that  there  are  sufficient  grounds  to  arrest  judgment." 

Mr.  O'Connell  prayed  the  Court  that  Mr.  Fitzpatrick's  recognizance  might  be  immedi- 
ately taken,  in  order  to  avoid  his  remaining  in  custody  all  night.  He  said  that  Mr.  Fitz- 
patrick was  a  respectable  man,  and  there  was  no  danger  hut  he  would  be  forthcoming.  He 
therefore  presumed  that  his  own  recognizance  woiil.l  be  sufficient. 

Security — himself  in  £1000,  and  two  others  in  £500  each — required. 

Mr.  O'Connell—''  You  were  already  offered  to  have  that  requisition  complied  witli  upon 
fair  terms.  The  bail  shall  be  immediately  produced." 


THE  ENGLISH  CATHOLICS. 

THK  conduct  of  the  English  Catholics  came  under  discussion  for  the  second  time  this  year, 
in  the  Dublin  Board,  on  the  13th  of  February.    On  this  occasion — 

Mr.  O'Connell  rose  to  propose  a  resolution,  on  which  he  be- 
lieved there  would  be  but  one  feeling  in  the  Board.  It  related 
to  the  gratuitous  interference  of  a  gentleman  in  England,  and  a 
Catholic,  too.  The  Catholics  had  before  suffered  from  the  offi- 
3ious  and  .unauthorized  interference  of  persons,  who  had  under  * 
taken  to  act  for  them  with,  perhaps,  the  very  best  intentions  in 
the  world ;  and  it  had,  therefore,  become  necessary  for  them  to 
pay  close  attention  to  anything  of  the  kind  which  was  attempted, 
no  matter  from  what  quarter  it  came.  If,  as  he  had  just  stated, 
that  individual  interference,  though  accompanied  by  excellent 
intention,  had  produced  unpleasant  consequences,  how  much 
more  likely  was.  such  conduct  to  cause  ill  effects,  if  it  were  the 
offspring  of  a  contrary  disposition  ? 

Whether  the  intentions  of  Mr.  Charles  Butler  were  of  this  lat- 
ter description  or  not,  he  should  not  then  take  upon  him  to  de- 
side  ;  but  this  much  was  certain,  that  he  had  echoed  the  despi- 
cable and  unfounded  cant  which  the  enemies  of  the  body  had 
been  at  such  pains  to  propagate;  he  had  complained  of  the  in- 


152  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

temperance  with  which  the  just  demands  of  so  many  miHionr  of 
loyal  though  oppressed  people  were  urged.  He  had  even  gcue 
farther;  he  had  attempted  to  prove  that  the  Board  had  been 
guilty  of  intemperance ;  but  he  (Mr.  O'Connell)  denied  that  he 
had  proved  any  such  thing;  he  utterly  dissented  from  the  charge 
and  assertion. 

It  was  not  intemperance  for  men,  who  knew  they  deserve' 1 
to  be  free,  to  wish  for  freedom ;  it  was  not  intemperance  for 
men,  whom  the  gifts  of  nature  and  the  advantages  of  rank  and 
fortune,  had  combined  to  render  eminent ;  it  was  not  for  such 
men  to  be  charged  with  intemperance,  because  they  panted  to 
enjoy  those  common  rights,  which  are  the  inheritance  of  every 
man  in  this  community.  When  my  Lord  Aid  borough,  and  my 
Lord  fciltarton,  and  such  holy  Apostles,  assisted  by  others,  whom 
motives  of  personal  delicacy  induced  him  to  refrain  from  men- 
tioning, wished  to  drown  the  Catholics  in  their  inferiority — to 
force  them  to  continue  Helots — slaves — when  they  saw  men  en- 
deavouring to  perpetuate  and  sustain  every  sort  of  political  pro- 
fligacy, and  to  clothe  that  profligacy  in  the  sacred  mantle  of 
Christianity — it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  those  who  were  the 
sufferers,  should  assert,  with  a  manly,  but  constitutional  firm- 
ness, the  impolicy  and  injustice  of  perpetuating  their  degradation. 

And  was  it  for  this  that  they  were  to  be  charged  with  intem- 
perance, by  such  men  as  he  had  described?  And  how  could 
Mr.  Charles  Butler  satisfactorily  account  for  lending  himself  to 
such  a  charge?  He  (Mr.  O'Connell)  proclaimed  the  charge  to  be 
a  foul  and  malignant  stratagem,  invented  by  the  enemies  of  the 
cause  of  Ireland  and  of  the  empire.  Thank  God !  they  could  i>ot 
say  that  the  Catholics  prostrated  themselves  at  the  foot  of  the 
minister,  for  the  purpose  of  advancing  their  interest,  or  that  Ihey 
sacrificed  themselves  on  the  altar  of  dishonour,  and  bartered  to 
become  the  slaves  of  corruption,  instead  of  being  the  slaves  of  an 
unjust  and  impolitic  peual  code.  Slavery,  in  the  first  instance 
would  be  infamy  in  themselves ;  in  the  other  (although  acutely  feH 
by  the  victim),  it  reflected  disgrace  only  on  their  oppressors! 

He  moved  the  following  resolution: — 

"Resolved — That  from  recent  information,  we  deem  it  necessary  to 
^tate,  that  no  person  has  been,  or  is  authorised  to  hold  any  communi- 
cation with  any  member*  of  the  administration  on  behalf  of  'he  Catho- 
lics of  Ireland  as  respecting  their  affairs,  onr  confidence  being-  reposed 
in  Itee  noblemen  and  geuiiemen  composing  the  delegation,  and  acting 
under  the  directions  of  the  Board." 

'>«•  re*c>lutiou 


ANIBL  O'CONNKLL,  ESQ.,  M.F.  163 


NO  POPERY  PETITIONS. 

On  Sth  the  of  ifay,  1813,  Mr.  O'Connell  addressed  the  Catholic  Board  on  the  sDbjr-ct 
No  Popery  Petition*. 

Mr.  O'Connell  rose,  and  stated  that  it  was  his  intention  to 
raove  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  consider  in  whnt 
manner  most  consistent  with  that  delicacy  which  it  was  desir-» 
able  to  observe  towards  the  real  Protestant  petitioners,  the  inm 
mense  number  of  forged  and  fictitious  names  which  had  been 
affixed  to  the  petition,  styled  that  of  the  "  Freeholders,  Freemen, 
and  Inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Dublin,"  and  which  had  been  pr  •- 
lonted  with  such  ludicrous  pomp  and  ceremony,  might  be  brought 
t»efore  the  imperial  parliament. 

He  requested  permission  to  take  that  opportunity  of  retnrn- 
ng  his  thanks  for  the  high  honour  conferred  upon  him,  on  the 
ast  day  of  meeting,  in  his  appointment  as  one  of  the  Catholic 
delegates.  He  entreated  also  leave  to  excuse  himself  from  the 
apparent  neglect  of  his  duties  as  such.  Those  who  voted  for  him 
ought  to  have  recollected  how  entirely  impossible  it  was  for  him, 
at  this  period  of  term,  to  leave  Dublin.  He  was  ready  to  make 
every  sacrifice  for  the  common  cause;  he  was  ready  to  sacrifice 
nis  life  to  advance  civil  or  religious  liberty  in  his  native  land. 
But  he  could  not  tamper  with  the  interests  of  other  persons  at 
that  moment  confided  to  his  hands.  He,  therefore,  very  grate- 
fully and  very  respectfully  tendered  his  resignation  of  the  office 
<)f  delegate. 

As  to  the  plan  which  he  should  recommend  for  the  exposure 
of  the  forgeries,  he  could  not  have  thought  necessary  to  suggest 
it  at  all,  had  the  Catholic  bill  been  rejected.  He  was  little  dis- 
posed to  desire  the  Catholics  to  alter  their  tone  at  any  time*; 
but  when  the  legislature  evinced  so  decided  a  disposition  to  grant 
and  to  conciliate,  he  did  not  think  a  corresponding  spirit  should 
be  wanted  on  their  part. 

The  Catholics  had  at  length  arrived  at  that  important  stage  of 
their  history,  that  a  bill,  intended  to  give  them  relief,  was  ac- 
f  lally  making  progress  in  parliament.  The  good  intentions  o? 
their  friends  in  parliament  were  obvious;  they  intended  to  ex- 
tend eligibility — all  that  was  required — with  considerable  libe- 
rality. What  a  deplorable  circumstance  it  was,  that,  with  such 
excellent  diRpositions,  they  have  not  taken  the  trouble  of  acquir- 
ing such  information  as  would  enable  them  to  carry  their  good 
iateuticiis  into  practical  effect!  The  bill  they  had  brought  in 

L   ' 


154  DELECT  SPEECHES  OK 

was  a  well-intentioned  bill,  but  it  was  a  slovenly  bill!  Slovenly 
ii  its  recitals — slovenly  and  inaccurate  in  its  details. 

Before  proceeding  further,  he  wished  the  tenor  and  object  of 
his  remarks  to  be  distinctly  understood.  There  were  clauses 
purely  civil,  and  clauses  that  had  reference  to  ecclesiastical  mat- 
ters in  this  bill.  Upon  the  nature  of  the  latter  he  should  observe 
a  total  silence.  The  discussion  of  them  was  too  well  calculated 
to  produce  heats  which  it  was  his  object  to  avoid.  He  should 
confine  himself  closely  to  the  subject  of  civil  rights;  the  Board 
was  not  called  upon  to  entertain  the  question  of  religious  secu- 
rity at  all,  nor,  in  fact,  was  it  necessary  to  be  introduced  any- 
where for  the  present.  When  it  was  seen  that  the  legislature 
would  grant  civil  liberty,  then  it  would  be  time  to  lot  those 
whose  province  it  was,  consider  of  religious  security, 

As  he  had  bestowed  much  attention  upon  the  bill,  and  as  he 
was  anxious  to  serve  his  countrymen  at  home,  when  he  did  not 
perceive  how  he  could  do  it  by  going  to  England,  he  had  felt  it 
his  duty  to  lay  before  the  Board  the  frame  and  plan  of  a  bill  for 
civil  liberty,  such  as  he  conceived  could  not  fail  to  satisfy  the 
people.  In  submitting  this  frame,  he  would  again  repeat,  that 
he  gave  the  persons  who  had  prepared  and  brought  the  bill  now 
before  parliament,  the  most  perfect  credit  for  the  purity  of  their 
intentions.  His  objections  to  the  frame  of  the  bill,  were,  per- 
haps, but  technical,  still  he  thought  them  entitled  to  attention. 
There  were  phrases  in  the  recital  and  enactment  which  were  nefr 
and  unknown  to  the  constitution  and  law.  Catholics  were  to 
be  made  participators  in  what  was  called  "Free  Government" 
What  was  the  legal  meaning  of  the  word  government  ?  It  was  a 
term,  the  legal  meaning  of  which  was  unknown  and  undefined. 
It  would  apply  equally  well  to  the  government  of  Constantino- 
ple as  to  that  of  England.  In  the  common  meaning  of  the  word 
here,  we  are  apt  to  think  of  the  government  of  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond when  the  words  were  used,  and  the  Catholics  did  not  de- 
sire to  have  it  understood  that  they  wished  to  participate  in  his 
Grace's  government.  They  felt  no  such  inclination;  their  wish 
was  to  participate  in  the  constitution — in  the  free  constitution 
that  had  been  framed  by  Catholics — by  rigid  Catholics — all  of 
whose  grand,  but  now  neglected  principles  of  popular  power  and 
popular  representation,  had  been  established  before  Protestant- 
ism had  a  being  or  a  name. 

It  might  be  deemed  trivial  to  criticise  verbal  inaccuracies  ;  but 
let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that  these  were  the  words  of  an  instru- 
ment purporting  to  be  a  great  state  bond  and  compact  between 


DAMEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  155 

two  nations,  united  in  name,  but  kept  separate  by  impolicy  and 
injustice.  (Hear,  hear.)  In  this  important  act  every  word  was 
of  moment,  for,  upon  every  word  would  depend  the  liberties  of 
living,  and  of  yet  unborn  millions  !  (Hear,  hear,  hear.) 

And  sorry  he  was  to  say,  that  to  defective  recitals,  still  more 
defective  enactments  were  attached.  True  it  would,  upon  the 
condition  of  taking  this  vile  oath,  open  the  House  of  Commons 
and  the  House  of  Peers,  and  many  an  important  office  and  hon- 
ourable rank,  and  serve  as  a  stage  in  the  natural  progress  to  the 
complete  establishment  of  an  equalization  of  civil  rights.  But 
it  was  slovenly  as  far  as  related  to  the  peerage ;  it  was  defective 
us  far  as  related  to  judicial  offices ;  it  was  useless  with  respect  to 
corporations  ,  and  it  did  nothing  at  all  for  charities,  education, 
marriage,  or  landed  property ;  and  this  was  but  a  brief  and  ami- 
cable summary  of  its  defects. 

Such  was  the  bill  which  was  at  that  moment  before  the  house. 
How  different  from  what  it  ought  to  be— how  different  from  what 
it  might  have  been,  if  our  excellent  liberators  had  but  conde- 
scended to  consult  the  parties  most  interested.  (Hear,  hear.) 

A  draft  of  a  bill  has  been  prepared  by  my  friend,  to  whose 
pen  and  to  whose  services  the  Catholics  are  so  much  indebted 
(Mr.  Finlay).  It  has  my  warm  approbation,  because  it  is  com- 
prehensive in  its  principles — ample  in  its  relief.  It  would  abolish 
all  civil  and  lay  distinctions  for  cause  of  conscience,  and  open  to 
every  faithful  subject  a  career  unfettered  by  the  trammels  of  per- 
secuting laws.  It  would  leave  for  merit  what  is  now  conceded 
to  creed,  and  destroy  jealousies  and  religious  animosities  by  re-- 
moving their  causes.  Such  was  the  bill  which,  he  trusted,  would 
yet  be  brought  before  parliament.  He  begged  permission,  as  it 
was  short,  to  read  it 

Upon  this  Mr.  O'Connell  was  called  to  order  by  Mr.  Baggot,  Mr.  Costigan,  and  Counsel- 
.cr  Bellew,  who  spoke  at  considerable  length  to  show  that  the  merits  of  the  bill,  or  of  anjr 
substitute  for  it,  could  not  be  relevant  to  the  object  of  the  motion  before  tbe  Board. 

After  a  good  deal  of  discussion  upon  the  point  of  order,  in  which  Mr.  0' Gorman  ani 
Counsellor  Finn  also  took  part,  the  chairman  decided  that  Mr.  O'Connell  was  certainly  out 
s(  »"der  and  that  the  draft  of  the  proposed  bill  should  not  be  read. 

Mr.  O'Connell  immediately  submitted  to  the  decision  of  the 
chairman,  although  he  said  he  could  show  that  what  he  had  been 
saying  bore  directly  upon  the  question  tLen  before  the  Board  ; 
before  he  proceeded,  however,  to  the  more  immediate  discussion 
of  that  question,  he  gave  notice  of  his  intention  to  submit,  next 
•Saturday,  a  brief  abstract  and  skeleton  of  such  a  bill  as  he  coii- 
oeived  was  calculated  to  giiuut  real  and  complete  Emancipation 


*66  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

(Cheers.)  I  am  now  come  (said  he)  to  that  part  of  the  question 
which  is  included  in  the  very  terms  of  my  motion.  I  am  not 
confined  to  the  history  of  the  fraud  and  forgery  of  which  I  now 
complain.  I  shall  not,  I  trust,  be  interrupted  whilst  I  observe 
shortly  upon  its  clauses.  I  allude  not  to  the  hostility — the  ran- 
corous but  ineffectual  hostility  of  the  Richmond  administration, 
in  this  country,  to  the  rights  of  the  Irish  Catholics.  That  is 
scarcely  worthy  of  investigation,  and  deserves  little  more  than  to 
be  mentioned  for  the  purpose,  simply,  of  reprobation.  The  causes 
I  advert  to  lie  deeper ;  they  are  to  be  ibund  in  the  great  and  con- 
tinued success  of  which  falsehood — unblushing  falsehood — has 
already  had  against  the  Irish  Catholics  ! 

It  was  not  in  the  field  of  battle  that  our  liberties  wero  cloven 
down  !     (Hear,  hear.)     No  !  Our  ancestors  when  they  fought,  if 
they  did  not  advance  as  victors,  surrendered  upon  the  faith  of  an 
honourable  capitulation  ;  but  that  faith  was  violated,  and  its 
violation  was  justified  by  calumny  !     (Hear,  hear,  hear.)     The 
Catholics  were  accused  of  entertaining  opinions  which  they  have 
ever  detested — of  adopting  positions  and  principles  which  they 
have  ever  abhorred.     Charges  were  brought  forward  and  repeated 
against  them  which  could  be  aptly  contradicted  only  in  the  broad 
> togamy  of  Lord  Elleuborough's  language — "  Charges  fahe  as 
Jlell  r     Charges — the  falsehood  of  which  was  known  to  the  very 
accusers  themselves — w^e  repeated,  until  the  credulous  were 
convinced,  and  the  we«K  yielded.     From  the  Press,  the  Stage, 
the  Bar,  the  Bench,  and  the  Pulpit,  were  opinions  charged  upon 
the  Catholics  directly  the  reverse  of  what  they  entertained,  and' 
articles  of  belief  asserted  to  be  theirs,  which  they  always  rejected 
and  abjured.     Those  who  were  violators  of  their  own  faith  with 
the  Catholics  in  fact,  accused  the  Catholics  of  being  violators  of 
faith  in  theory  ;  and  those  men  who  persecuted  the  Catholics  in 
wality,  accused  their  victims  of  being  persecutors  in  imagination 
and  design  !     (Hear,  hear.) 

The  accusation  you  feel  and  know  to  be  utterly  false,  but  it 
was  repeated  until  it  was  believed,  and  the  Catholic  suffered  the 
punishment,  not  of  any  crime  of  which  he  could,  by  any  possi- 
bility be  proved  guilty,  but  of  offences  tabricated  in  the  malicious 
fancies  of  enemies,  and  which  were  not  only  unfounded,  but  im- 
possible. They  were  impossible,  because  so  utterly  repugnant 
to  human  nature,  and  contradicted  by  the  stamp  of  his  own  di- 
vine image,  which  the  Diety  had  infixed  upon  the  human  soul. 
(Cheering.) 

Vet,  it  was  by  the  assertion  and  re-assertion  of  those  caltmi- 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL.  ESQ.,  M.P.  1£7 

nies — it  was  by  attributing  to  us  opinions  which,  if  they  existed, 
I  should  be  sorry  a  single  Catholic  remained  in  Ireland — I  am 
quite  sure  I  should  not  be  one.  It  was  by  those  false  and  foul 
imputations  that  we  were  degraded  in  public  opinion,  and  then 
reduced  to  slavery,  and.  since  continued  in  bondage. 

It  was  vain  to  protest  against  the  untruths  ;  for  near  a  cen- 
tury  they  maintained  their  sway,  and  new  generations  sprung  up 
•>efore  the  appeal  of  calumniated  millions  was  heard,  or  their 
wror.gs  investigated.  (Hear,  hear.) 

Falsehood  having  been  so  long  successful,  it  suited  well  to  the 
mischievous  and  malignant  activity  of  the  management  of  the 
llichmond  administration  to  resort  to  its  resources.  Accordingly, 
the  most  impure  and  corrupt  Press  that  ever  disgraced  any  ago 
was  set  at  work,  with  plenty  of  present  pay  and  of  future  ex- 
pectation, to  traduce,  to  calunmiate,  and  to  vilify  the  Catholics 
collectively  and  individually.  (Hear.)  Accordingly,  all  the 
ancient  calumnies  were  revived,  and  every  new  calumny  brought 
forward  that  could  be  invented  by  a  very  malignant  disposition, 
but  a  very  miserable  intellect.  The  seven-times-sold  apostate 
from  every  principle  was  purchased  and  arrayed  against  us,  until 
all  the  force  that  malicious  dulness  could  collect  was  brought 
into  action,  and  commanded  by  a  general  better  versed  in  the 
quibbles  of  the  law,  than  in  the  tactics  of  the  field.  It  was  in 
pursuance  of  this  government  plan  of  imposition,  that  the  "Third 
part  of  the  Statement  of  the  Penal  Laws"  made  its  appearance 
— that  it  was  circulated  in  England  as  genuine,  and  given  to  the 
world  as  the  sentiments  of  men,  who  held  its  contents  and  its 
authors  in  equal  contempt ! 

Perhaps,  so  scandalous  and  impudent  an  imposition  never  dis- 
graced the  annals  of  bigotry.  But  the  fabricators — have  they 
been  punished  ?  Oh,  no  !  Mr.  Attorney-General  has  no  terrors 
for  men  who  would  divide  and  distract ;  he  prudently  reserves 
all  his  vengeance  for  those  who  dare  to  preach  harmony  and  con- 
ciliation,, and  to  call  oppression  and  bigotry  by  their  right  names. 

Next  in  order  followed  this  petition,  the  signatures  to  v^hicli 
are  the  object  of  my  present  motion.  It  commenced  in  false- 
hood, it  was  conducted  by  fraud,  and  it  was  consummated  by 
forgery.  Yes,  its  commencement  was  in  falsehood,  for  it  was 
alleged  to  have  been  voted  at  a  meeting  of  "  the  freemen,  free- 
holders, and  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Dublin."  '  This  allegation 
was  printed  in  several  of  the  Dublin  newspapers  for  near  three 
months,  and  to  the  assertion  was  affixed  the  name  "  Abraham 
Bradley  King,"  and  yet  a  more  unfounded  assertion  was  never 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


madc-an  allegation  more  destitute  of  truth  never  insulted  the 
Ktienoe  of  public  credulity,  than  that  signed  and  repeated  for 
three  months,  under  the  signature  of  "Abraham  Bradley  King. 
I  need  not  ask,  when  this  meeting  was  called,  or  where,  or  b> 
whom?  I  need  not  remind  you,  that  there  was  no  theatre  suffi 
ciently  lame  to  contain  such  a  meeting,  if  it  ever  took  place  ; 
nor  need  I  revive  the  indignation  which  the  miserable  excuse 
excited,  that,  really,  the  exhausted  remnant  of  a  supper  table  at 
the  Mayor's  house,  did  vote  itself,  being  fall  half  a  dozen  « 
number  into  the  freemen,  freeholders,  and  inhabitants  o?  the  city 
of  Dublin,  and  then  passed  this  petition  !  And  yet,  m  sober 
sadness  it  must  be  admitted  that,  no  better  justification  existed 
for  the  Lord  Mayor's  assertion  of  a  public  meeting 

I  said  that  it  was  conducted  by  fraud  ;  for  this  fraud,  we  are 
told  by  the  uncontradicted  report  of  the  public  papers,  was  re- 
orted  to.  The  mayor  procured  himself  to  be  deputed-nobody 
knows  by  whom-to  take  the  petition  to  London  Arrived 
there,  heated,  we  are  told,  the  no-Popery  petition,  as  the 
authorized  delegate  of  the  Corporation  of  Dublin.  Yet  he  had  no 
suth  authority^hewasthe  simple  messenger  of  a  simple  party  of 
obscure  individuals  who,  as  this  petition  originated  at  a  supper, 
sent  him  off  from  a  dinner,  after  which  the  Duke  of  Richmond 
ludicrously  graced  him  with  a  troop  of  horse  to  accompany  his 
mock  lordship  thence  to  the  Pigeon-house.  His  very  journey  to 
London  was  a  fraud,  because  it  held  out  to  the  English  people 
the  appearance  of  the  first  magistrate  of  a  great  city  despatched 
by  the  constituted  authorities  of  that  city  on  public  business. 
Under  that  pretence  he  presented  himself  in  London,  whilst  i 
is  shrewdly  whispered  that  he  attended  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
deavouring to  traffic  upon  the  importance  of  his  official  station, 
in  order  to  get  the  name  of  his  son  inserted  into  an  appoint- 
ment connected  with  his  lucrative  employment  In  short  I 
farce  was  just  worthy  of  the  legal  managers  that  are  at  tt* 
bottom  of  every  work  of  bigotry  and  persecution  in  Ireland,  and 
of  the  inflated  buffoon  who  was  the  principal  actor. 

The  consummation  of  the  petition  was  forgery,  in  the  ordi- 
nary sense  of  the  word,  consisting  of  the  affixing  the  names  of 
individuals  without  their  authority  or  consent;  forgery,  equally, 
if  not  more  culpable,  in  writing  hundreds  of  imaginary  names, 
and  affixing  them  to  this  petition  from  a  multitude.  The  1  n> 
testants  of  Ireland  petitioned  last  year  on  our  behalf.  The 
wealth,  the  worth,  the  talent  of  the  Irish  Protestants-every 
thing  that  was  noble,  and  dignified,  and  intelligent  aud  urifr 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL.  ESQ.,  M.P.  159 

pendent  .i.mongst  our  Protestant  brethren  united  in  that  peti- 
tion ;  their  names  have  been  printed,  and  it  is  with  pride  and 
with  pleasure  that  we  see  those  names  constitute  a  large  book, 
whilst  every  name  speaks  a  volume  of  mutual  affection  and  re- 
ciprocal charity. 

This  is,  indeed,  a  proud  display  for  Ireland ;  this  was  all  slie 
\vanted  from  man,  that  her  children  should  combine  in  concilia, 
tion  and  harmony.  It  would,  really,  have  afforded  a  curious 
incident  in  the  history  of  human  frailty,  if  those  who  had  come 
forward  last  year,  under  the  banners  of  liberality  and  justice, 
had  been  seduced  this  year  to  join  the  blood-stained  flag  of  Orange 
intolerance.  (Hear,  hear.)  The  experiment  had  been  made ; 
everything  that  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  state — that  the  in- 
genuity of  the  advocates,  or  the  authority  of  the  judges — that 
the  exertions  of  the  writer,  or  the  intrigues  of  the  courtier  could 
supply,  was  brought  into  action,  to  seduce,  to  convince,  to  iuti- 
midate,  to  control,  to  cajole,  and  to  deceive  the  Irish  Protestants. 
But  all  these  resources  failed  ;  the  drunken  orgies  and  the  morn- 
ing preaching  intemperance  of  abuse,  and  the  hypocritical  lamen- 
tations of  pretended  friendship  were  tried,  and  tried  without 
effect.  The  independent  and  enlightened  Protestants  of  Ireland 
remained  true  to  the  liberality  which  they  had  professed,  and 
rejected  every  attempt  to  bring  them  over  to  the  ranks  of  our 
opponents.  (Hear,  hear.) 

It  was  a  matter,  therefore,  of  much  curiosity  to  discover  who 
the  2,800  "  freemen,  freeholders,  and  inhabitants  of  Dublin"  could 
possibly  be  :  public  curiosity  has  been  gratified — gratified  by  the 
inspection  of  the  names — gratified  by  the  discovery  that  the 
dagger  is  air-drawn  and  imaginary,  by  which  it  was  sought  to 
assassinate  Protestant  character  and  Catholic  liberty !  (Hear, 
hear.)  I  have  seen  an  authentic  copy  of  this  formidable  petition, 
and  I  rejoice  to  be  able  to  assure  you,  that  it  affords  decisive  evi- 
dence of  the  low  state  of  intolerance.  I  have  read  this  list,  and, 
after  the  most  minute  inquiry,  added  to  my  own  knowledge  in 
this  city,  it  does  appear  to  me  that  there  are  not  twenty  names 
to  this  petition  of  persons  of  fortune  and  independence  of  mind, 
who  signed  it  from  mere  motives  of  conscientious  bigotry.  This 
class  of  persons  are  certainly  to  be  treated  with  the  most  re- 
spectful deference ;  they  labour  under  a  mistake,  but  they  act 
from  pure  intentions,  and  I  respect  whilst  I  pity  them.  They 
had  an  undoubted  right  to  petition  against  conceding,  upon  any 
terms,  anything  to  the  Papists ;  they  had  a  clear  right  to  pi-ay 
the  legislature  to  continue  to  be  indiscriminate  in  laying  on  the 


160  SELECT  SPEECHES  Of 

u 

burdens  of  the  state,  but  partial  in  conferring  its  benefits.  I 
admit  their  perfect  right  to  sign  this  petition,  and  I  request  it 
may  be  understood,  that  I  am  incapable  of  applying  any  harsh 
expression  to  them,  as  I  certainly  also  am  of  feeling  any  resent- 
ment against  them.  But,  undoubtedly,  in  the  number  of  twenty, 
I  have  given  abundant  room  for  the  uninfluenced  signatures. 

I  blush  to  tell  you  that  this  list  contains  three  or  four  of  the 
Irish  bar.  (Hear,  hear.)  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  there  are 
so  many  certainly  as  three — I  fear  four.  The  Irish  people,  long 
accustomed  to  find  in  the  Irish  bar  the  friends  of  every  freedom, 
will  hear  it  with  astonishment,  notwithstanding  the  acrimony, 
the  native  and  the  imported  acrimony,  towards  the  Catholics, 
cherished  by  the  head  of  the  law  department.  It  will  scarcely  be 
believed  that  our  profession,  proudly  distinguished,  as  it  formerly 
was,  for  liberality  and  love  of  country,  has  so  fallen  as  to  aflbrd 
even  three  signatures  to  an  anti-Catholic  petition.  I  regret,  from 
my  soul,  the  discovery.  (Hear,  hear.) 

The  number  of  clergymen  of  the  Established  Church  who 
signed  this  petition  is,  I  am  happy  to  say,  few  ;  nor,  when  we  re- 
collect what  excellent  and  accomplished  gentlemen  those  clergy- 
men in  general  are,  will  it  excite  any  surprise  in  the  minds  of 
the  bigots  of  any  sect,  that  the  number  of  their  signatures  should 
be  few.  Of  attorneys,  there  are,  at  least,  eight  or  ten — I  ex- 
pected to  find  twice  the  number ;  of  placemen,  there  are  many ; 
of  pensioners,  several ;  many  from  the  offices  of  the  castle ;  many 
from  the  police  offices ;  several  from  the  custom-house  :  almost 
all  the  hired  constables;  the  judge,  the  registrar,  and  the  proctors 
of  the  prerogative  court,  and  as  many  of  the  wretched  watchmen 
of  Dublin  as  are,  or  pretended  to  be,  Protestants  ;  there  has  been 
so  much  liberality  exercised,  as  to  admit  poor  Papists  to  the  dig- 
nity of  the  nightly  watch.  (A  laugh. )  To  these  are  to  be  added  the 
"tag,  rag,  and  bob-tail"  of  the  corporation — numbers  of  those 
who  hold  its  principal  stations — all  those  who  hold  its  lower 
offices,  and  are  appointed  and  removable  at  pleasure.  Add  to 
these,  writing  clerks,  dependents,  and  a  small,  but  hungry  group 
of  expectants,  and  you  have  the  entire  catalogue  of  genuine  sig- 
natures. 

But  there  will  remain  near  two  thousand  signatures  to  be  still 
accounted  for — near  two  thousand  signatures  will  remain,  for 
whom  no  owner  can  be  found.  (Hear,  hear.)  Of  those  there 
are  some  hundreds  which  purport  to  belong  to  individuals  who 
have  indignantly  disclaimed  them.  There  are,  in  short,  some 
hundreds  of  forgeries.  (Hear,  hear.)  Need  we  give  a  more 


i 


OCONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  1  Ci 

striking  instance  than  that  of  Mr.  Stephens  1  He  discovered 
that  his  name  had  been  forged  to  this  petition,  and  immediately 
wrote  to  the  Mayor,  to  inform  him  of  the  circumstance ;  the 
Mayor  did  not  condescend  to  give  any  reply,  but  took  the  known 
forgery  to  England,  and  presented  it  to  the  House  a^  genuine. 
(Hear,  hear.)  When  forgery  was  exhausted  mere  fiction  was 
resetted  to.  There  was  danger  in  giving  names  which,  being  in. 
common  use,  might  be  disavowed  by  individuals  bearing  them. 
The  fabricators  of  this  petition  set  disavowal  at  defiance  ;  they 
produced  names  which  no  man  ever  bore  or  will  bear — (Hear, 
hear) ;  they  invented  John  Hedpath,  and  coupled  him  with  John 
Ridpath — they  attached  James  Hedpath  to  James  Ridpath ;  they 
united  the  noble  families  of  the  Feddlies  to  the  illustrious  race 
of  Fiddlies ;  they  created  the  Jonneybones,  and  added  the  M'Coo- 
bens  to  the  Muldongs ;  to  the  uncleanly  Rottens  is  anneic-d  the 
musical  name  of  Navasora — the  Sours  and  the  Soars — the  Dan- 
dys  and  the  Feakens — the  Gilbasleys  and  the  Werrillas — five 
Ladds  and  five  Palks — the  Leups  and  the  Zealthams — the  Huziea 
and  the  Hozies — the  Sparlings  and  the  Sperlings — the  Fitzgetta 
and  tht  Fibgetts — the  Hoifins  and  the  Phantons,  and  the  Giri- 
trows,  and  the  Kockleys  and  Breakleys,  the  Russinghams,  and  the 
Favuses,  and  the  Sellhews,  and  the  Mogratts  and  Calyells — all, 
poor  innocents,  are  made  to  combine  against  us,  and  to  chime 
with  the  Pithams  and  Paddams — the  Chimnicks,  and  Rimnicks, 
ind  Clumnicks,  and  the  Rowings  and  Riotters ;  they  threw  in 
the  vulgar  Bawns,  and  after  a  multitude  of  fantastic  denomina- 
tions, they  concluded  with  Zachariah  Diamond.  (Great  laughter.) 

In  short,  a  more  tasteless  group  of  imaginary  beings  was  never 
conjured  up  by  the  delusions  of  magic.  To  the  tune  of  "  Jonny 
Armstrong," — they  gave  us  five-and-twenty  Armstrongs,  and 
placed  eighteen  Taylors  on  the  list — it  ought  to  have  been  "four- 
and-twenty  tailors  all  in  a  row,"  there  would  have  been  some 
pleasantry  in  it.  In  short,  by  these  means,  by  the  force  of  mere 
invention,  upwards  of  one  thousand  names  have  been  added  to 
this  petition,  and  one  thousand  children  of  the  brain  of  those 
worthy  managers  of  intolerance  appeared  in  formidable  array 
against  us,  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Commons,  covered  with 
the  mantle  of  the  Mayor  for  swaddling  clothes.  (Laughter.) 

It  is  incumbent  on  us  to  bring  these  facts  before  the  public 
and  the  legislature ;  we  owe  it  to  ourselves  and  to  our  children. 
to  get  rid  of  an  obstacle  to  our  liberty  and  theirs ;  we  owe  it  to 
the  legislature  to  detect  the  imposition  which  has  been  practised 
upon  them  ;  and  chiefly  ic  is  due  to  the  liberal  Protestants  'of 


162  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Ireland  to  rescue  the  Protestant  name  from  this  additional  im- 
putation of  bigotry  which  their  enemies,  no  less  than  ours,  would 
cast  upon  it.  (Hear,  hear.) 

There  is,  too,  another  motive,  which,  I  confess,  influences  me 
powerfully.  The  very  men  who  have  been  guilty  of  those  base 
forgeries  have,  in  a  recent  instance,  foully  tarnished  the  Irish  cha- 
racter-;'an  innocent  person  was  accused — an  innocent  female  was 
accused — perjury  the  most  foul — subornation  the  plainest  and 
most  palpable,  were  used  against  her  life,  and,  still  more,  against 
her  honour.  We,  Irish,  often  feel  (it  is  part  of  the  real  character 
of  Irishmen)  pity  for  the  accused,  it  is  said,  even  for  the  guilty ; 
but  accused  innocence  excites  our  warmest  sympathies ;  but 
when  female  innocence  stood  accused,  I  thought  for  the  honour 
of  my  country.  I  thought  that,  without  any  poetical  fiction, 
thousands  of  Irish  swords  would  start  from  their  scabbards,  and 
that  the  wretch  would  be  driven  from  society  who  checked  our 
manjy,  our  virtuous  indignation.  But  a  set  of  beings,  I  will  not 
call  them  men,  have  been  found,  who,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
persecuting  Castle,  the  pious  and  no- Popery  forgers  have  been 
found  to  refuse  the  poor  and  pitiful  tribute  of  their  approbation 
to  exalted  virtue  and  dignified  purity,  escaped  from  calumny, 
from  subornation  of  perjury.  These  loyalists — these  creatures 
who  call  themselves  exclusively  loyal,  because  they  are  the  ready 
sycophants  of  every  tool  of  power — (Hear,  hear) — these  exem- 
plary loyalists,  have  refused  to  address  the  niece  and  the  daugh- 
ter-in-law of  their  King — the  wife  of  the  Regent — their  future 
Queen — (Hear,  hear) — the  mother  of  their  future  Sovereign, 
though  the  triumph  which  her  unassisted  innocence  obtained 
over  the  vilest  conspiracy  ever  disclosed,  powerfully  demanded 
the  expression  of  congratulation. 

And  what  excuse  did  they  give  for  this  refusal  ?  Why,  they 
scorned  all  mockery  and  delusion,  and  insisted  that  to  addresf 
the  Princess  was  to  insult  the  Prince  :  and  would  the  Prince  feel 
insulted  at  such  an  address  ?  I  should  hope  two  things  of  him 
— first,  that  he  means,  hereafter,  to  redeem  the  pledge  he  has  so 
often  repeated  to  the  Irish  Catholics  (Hear,  hear) ;  and,  secondly, 
that  he  does  not  feel  insulted  when  the  triumph  of  the  Princess 
over  her  perjured  and  her  suborned  traducers  is  celebrated.— 
(Hear,  hear.) 

But  who  are  the  men  who  have  refused  to  address  her  Royal 
Highness?  Who  are  they  who  have  no  sense  of  justice — no  ab- 
horrence of  calumny — no  enthusiasm  in  defence  of  female  inno- 
cence] They  are  our  enemies  ;  they  are  the  fabricators  of  every 


DANIEL  O'GONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  163 

falsehood,  and  of  every  forgery  that  could  injure  or  impede  our 
cause ;  they  are  men  who  degrade  the  Irish  name — the  character 
of  manhood.  (Hear.)  We  are  bound  by  every  consideration 
dear  to  men,  and  sacred  to  Irishmen,  to  expose  to  the  empire 
those  wretches — to  show  them  as  they  are — poor,  paltry,  and 
profligate — the  ready  slaves  of  every  secretary — secretary's  clerk. 
We  are  bound  to  show  the  British  empire  that  it  was  not  the 
Irish — not  the  mercantile  inhabitants  of  Dublin — but  the  dregs 
of  the  fabricators  of  its  frauds  and  its  forgeries,  that  could  refuse, 
under  the  pretext  of  not  wishing  to  displease  the  Prince,  an  ad- 
dress of  congratulation  to  his  once  persecuted,  but  now  trium- 
phant consort.  (Hear,  hear.) 

In  short,  I  desire  to  succeed  in  my  present  motion,  for  this 
first  and  principal  reason,  that  the  meanness  of  the  open  enemies 
of  the  Princess  amongst  us,  and  of  their  titled  and  legal  instiga- 
tors and  prompters,  may  be  put  on  record '  for  ever.  That  will 
be  done  by  bringing  the  question  of  those  forgeries  and  fictitious 
signatures  before  the  House  of  Commons.  (Hear,  hear.)  To 
impose  upon  that  House  is,  I  presume,  a  breach  of  its  privileges. 
(Hear.)  Let  us  demand  inquiry  and  investigation.  Our  asser- 
tion will  be,  that  two-thirds  of  the  signatures  to  this  petition 
were  forged,  or  simply  fictitious  ;  but  we  will  not  require  an  as- 
sertion to  be  credited  without  proof;  we  will  challenge  inquiry ; 
we  will  show  five  hundred  names  without  an  owner  (hear) ;  and 
we  will  then  point  out  the  fabricators  of  this  mean  and  olishon- 
ourable  scheme  to  retard- the  progress  of  Emancipation. 

If  we  are  mistaken,  our  enemies  can  easily  confute  us ;  they 
iiave  only  to  produce  the  individual.  Mr.  Riotter  may  head 
•their  party.  I  should  be  glad  to  see  the  gentleman.  If  he  doee 
not  live  in  the  city,  this  Riotter,  I  presume  he  is  to  be  found  in 
the  liberties.  After  him  our  enemies  can  show  off  Mr.  Wevilla, 
ii;md  in  hand  with  Mr.  Navasora,  and  Johfcny  Bones,  Esq.,  may 
appear  with  Fibgetts,  gent.,  and  even  Mr.  Knowing  can  be  sum- 
moned to  come  forward  in  company  with  Mr.  Dandy.  (Cheers 
and  laughter.) 

But  why  should  I  fatigue  with  the  ridiculous  catalogue.  If 
those  men  exist — pardon  my  supposition — if  they  exist,  they  live 
for  our  enemies ;  if  they  do  not  exist,  then  what  is  to  become,  in 
public  estimation,  of  those  our  enemies — of  those  worthy  allies 
of  the  traducers  of  her  Royal  Highness?  Perhaps  their  spirit  of 
loyalty  may  save  them  in  parliament  from  punishment,  but  their 
fraud  and  forgery  will  consign  them  to  the  execration  and  coii 
tterupt  of  posterity. 


164  SKLJ5CT  SPEECHES  OF 

Mr.  O'Connell  concluded,  amid  great  cheering,  by  moving  tbe 
following  resolution  : — 

«'  Resolved— That  a  sub-committee  of  twenty-one  members  be  ap- 
pointed to  take  into  consideration  the  most  proper  method  of  investi- 
gating, and  respectfully  submitting  to  parliament,  the  alleged  forced 
and  fictitious  signatures  to,  the  petition  against  the  Catholic  claims,  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  by  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin." 

Major  Bryan  seconded  Mr.  O'Connell's  resolution,  which  was  agreed  to  unanimously. 

"  Resolved — That  the  committee  be  directed  to  request  the  aid  of 
such  of  our  Protestant  brethren  as  may  be  pleased  to  assist  in  acconi- 
plishing  the  object  of  their  report." 


CATHOLIC  RELIEF  BILL 

ON  the  29th  of  May,  1813,  Mr.  O'Connell  read,  in  the  Catholic  Board,  tho  unanimous  repu- 
diation by  the  Catholic  prelates  of  Irelir/l.  of  the  theu  proposed  "  religious  securities"  in 
the  Catholic  Relief  Hill  of  that  session. 

To  this  document,  continued  Mr.  O'Counell,  I  was  requested 
to  call  the  attention  of  this  Board,  whom  the  authors  have  ever 
honoured  with  their  esteem ;  at  all  events  I  was  desired  to  de- 
posit it  in  the  hands  of  the  secretary.  I  have  discharged  ouo 
part  of  my  duty,  I  perceive  not  without  the  approbation  of  the 
meeting ;  I  will  now  discharge  the  remainder,  (handing  it  to  the 
secretary,)  troubling  you  with  very  few  observations  indeed. 
(Loud  cries  of  hear,  hear.)  This  communication  is  such  as  has 
been  usually  received  at  periods  much  less  important  than  the 
present.  It  contains  no  assertion  beyond  the  strict  bounds  of 
episcopal  propriety.  The  only  objection  I  can  possibly  see  to 
its  being  received  with  respectful  thankfulness  and  cordiality, 
arises  from  a  consideration  personal  to  myself,  (hear,  hear.)  On 
the  last  occasion,  two  prelates  condescended  to  attend  here,  and 
made  in  therr  own  persons  the  communication  of  thei/  brother- 
hood ;  the  task  has  this  time  devolved  to  hands  much  more  in- 
competent and  less  entitled  to  consideration ;  and  I  admit,  that 
this  undesirable  circumstance  might,  if  there  were  no  justifica- 
tion for  it,  be  a  very  substantial  reason  why  you  would  not  now 
feel  so  well  pleased  as  before.  But,  gentlemen,  there  exists  whut 
you  will,  1  am  sure,  think  a  sufficient  justification  for  it.  There 
was  a  distinguished  prelate  to  whom  the  duty  of  waiting  on  this 
Board  was  delegated.  From  this  most  Rev.  prelate — his  Grace 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  16' 


tho  Archbishop,  Dr.  Murray — I  had  this  morning  the  honour  oir 
a  letter,  intimating  his  wish  that  I  should  appear  here  for  him. 
I  wrote  back  to  him  stating  that  1  should  much  rather  see  him- 
self in  attendance  :  and  I  got  an  answer,  alleging,  as  the  sole 
reason  of  his  intended  absence,  a  sufficient  one.  as  I  am  quit* 
sure  you  all  must  at  once  allow,  that  he  would  be  kept  away  by 
avocations  connected  with  the  discharge  of  his  sacred  functions, 
too  urgent  to  afford  him  leisure  or  admit  of  delay.  (Hear,  hear. 
Enemies  might  have  suggested  that  there  was  an  appearance  d 
disrespect,  or  of  some  want  of  sufficient  attention  in  the  variance 
from  the  formality  that  was  observed  on  the  last  occasion,  but  I 
flatter  myself,  it  is  now  quite  clear  to  every  gentleman  that  it 
was  an  appearance  only.  (Yes,  yes.)  The  motion,  then,  which 
I  intend  to  submit,  of  a  respectful  vote  of  thanks  to  the  prelates, 
members  of  the  Catholic  Synod,  for  their  communication,  and 
for  the  zeal  and  vigilance  they  always  evince  on  behalf  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  will,  of  course,  have  your  approbation,  and  the 
loud  and  unanimous  concurrence  of  the  people  of  Ireland.  (Hear, 
hear.) 

Indeed,  I  may  venture  to  say,  that  there  was  no  motion  ever 
submitted  to  this  Board,  to  which  assent  will  have  been  so  com- 
pletely yielded  as  a  matter  of  course. 

The  Catholic  prelates  of  Ireland  deserve  your  eternal  grati 
1  ude.  They  have  stood  forward  manfully  and  without  disguise, 
to  assist  you  in  getting  rid  of  a  bill  which  purported  to  be  for 
your  relief,  but  which,  in  reality,  would  have  perpetuated  your 
degradation  and  your  slavery.  (Loud  cheers.)  The  prelates,  if 
they  had  given  their  countenance  and  support  to  this  bill,  might 
have  consulted  and  advanced  their  own  worldly  interests.  But 
the  sacred  calls  of  duty  made  them  reject  such  considerations 
with  contempt.  It  is  not  possible  to  impute  any-  motives  for 
their  opposition  to  the  measure,  but  such  as  must  indisputably 
have  originated  in  conscience  and  a  sense  of  duty.  (Cheers.) 

And  they  were  right,  clearly  right.  They  were  right — I  take 
it  in  the  spiritual  matter  involved  in  the  new  regulations  ;  and 
they  were  most  manifestly  right  in  its  temporal  operation.  No- 
thing but  mischief  and  degradation,  nothing,  I  repeat,  but  the 
heaviest  mischiefs  and  the  most  utter  degradation  could  have 
resulted  from  the  commission  which  was  proposed  in  this  bill. 
For  see  by  whom  it  was  to  have  been  formed  and  selected,  and 
ctf  whom  it  was  likely  to  be  composed.  It  was  to  have  been 
the  creation  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  of  that  man  whose  ad- 
ministration has  been  signalized  by  a  Riillen  and  sulky  opposi- 


166  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

tion  to  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  ;  and  whose  most  distinguishing 
characteristic  as  a  chief  governor  is,  that  he  continues  bitterly 
to  hate  the  Papists — he  knows  not  why  nor  wherefore.  (Hear, 
hear.) 

Well,  this  hopeful  commission,  this  "charter  of  emancipation,** 
(laughter  and  cheers,)  was  to  be  framed  by  his  Grace  the  Duke 
of  Bichmond,  and  upon  whom  is  it  likoly  that  his  choice  would 
fcili  ?  Recollect,  however,  that  before  his,  before  even  his  selec- 
tion commenced,  you  were  certain  of  having,  as  president  of 
this  commission,  that  ludicrous  enemy  of  ours,  who  has  got,  in 
iest,  the  names  he  deserves  in  good  earnest,  of  " Orange  Pea,* 
(Hear,  hear.)  A  raw  youth,  squeezed  out  of  the  workings  of  I 
know  not  what  factory  in  England,  who  began  his  parliamentary 
career  by  vindicating  the  gratuitous  destruction  of  our  brave 
soldiers  m  the  murderous  expedition  to  Walcheren,  and  was  sent 
over  here  before  he  got  rid  of  the  foppery  of  perfumed  handker- 
chiefs and  thin  shoes,  upon  the  ground,  I  suppose,  that  he  had 
given  a  specimen  of  his  talents  for  vindication,  that  might  be 
useful  to  the  present  and  future  administrations  of  Ireland  ;  in 
short,  that  he  was  a  lad  ready  to  vindicate  anything — everything ! 

This  special  vindicator  was  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  proposed 
commission.  And  let  me  dismiss  him  for  ever,  by  venturing  to 
conjecture  what  he  may  hereafter  be  in  our  country.  But  no; 
I  will  not — I  cannot  estimate  his  future  qualities.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  say  what  the  man  may  be  in  old  age,  who,  young — with 
the  first  impressions  of  nature  about  him — with  a  heart  uncon- 
taminated,  at  least,  by  much  intercourse  with  the  world — with 
any  charities  of  his  nature  unsullied — with  any  milk  of  human 
kindness  unexhausted — whose  first  step  in  life  was  the  vindica- 
tion of  the  most  foolish  and  the  most  cruel — the  most  absurd, 
and  the  most  fatal — the  most  useless,  and  the  most  murderous 
expedition  that  human  insanity  ever  directed,  or  human  depra- 
vity ever  applauded.  (Great  cheering.) 

After  this  worthy  president  would  have  come — the  chosen  o» 
his  Grace — first,  we  should  have  had,  I  presume,  my  Lord  Man- 
ners !  a  gentleman,  certainly,  by  birth,  education,  and  in  deport- 
ment ;  but,  I  can  safely  assert,  quite  as  ignorant  of  the  state  of 
the  Irish  people,  and  as  unacquainted  with  their  wants,  wishes, 
feelings,  and  dispositions,  as  he  was  the  day  before  his  arrival  in 
this  country.  Surrounded  by.  and  pleased  with  those  men  onlv 
who  are  inclined  and  interested  to  deceive  him,  he  has  received 
their  miserably  mistaken  opinions,  and  adopted  their  bigotry 
with  a  facility  quite  inconsistent  with  a  sound  judgment  or  an 


DANIEL  o'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.  P.  16? 

Enlarged  understanding — and  still  more,  incompatible  witn  a 
good  heart. 

In  truth,  he  seems  just  such  a  man  as  bigotry  would  select  as 
her  choice  instrument.  Too  decent  to  inspire  any  disgust — t-jo 
polite  to  give  personal  offence — too  weak  to  discriminate  between 
the  artful  misrepresentation  of  bigotry  and  the  plain  language  of 
truth,  and  with  the  natural  propensity  of  a  small  mind  to  the 
practical  details  of  intolerance.  (Hear,  hear.)  He  has  no  con- 
nection with  this  country — no  interest  in  its  prosperity.  He 
has  no  stake  in  its  lands,  nor  does  he  possess  a  habitation  or  a 
dwelling  of  his  own  in  Ireland.  He  is  a  dry  lodger — in  furnished 
lodgings ;  and  when  the  hour  of  his  departure  shall  arrive — and 
may  it  soon  come — he  will  only  have  to  put  his  hat  upon  his 
head,  to  turn  into  bills  his  large  savings  on  the  ten  thousand  a 
year,  which  the  poor  people  of  Ireland  pay  him,  and  forget  us  as 
rapidly  as  we  shall  consign  his  name  to  oblivion.  (Cheers.) 

Next  to  n\y  Lord  Manners,  we  should  have  been  sure  to  find 
upon  the  list  of  these  commissioners,  the  Duke  of  Richmond's 
privy  councillor,  the  Right  Hon.  Doctor  Duigenan !  he,  who  was 
so  specially  appointed  by  his  Grace  for  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and 
for  none  other,  that  he  was  very  aptly  compared  to  the  tanner's 
dog,  kept  chained  all  day,  and  only  let  loose  at  night.  This  re- 
ligious bull-dog  is  particularly  fitted  for  worrying  Popish  bishops, 
no  tanner's  dog  ever  hating  a  thief  at  night,  as  he  does  a  Popish 
priest  in  the  noon-day.  It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  the  canine 
guardian,  either  of  the  tanned  leather  or  of  the  ascendancy,  to 
feel  pity  or  show  mercy.  (Hear,  hear.)  Poor  Popery  would  soon 
have  been  torn  to  pieces  beneath  his  vile  tooth. 

Either  Mr.  William  Saurin,  the  Attorney- General,  a  man  after 
Doctor  Duigenan's  own  heart  (hear,  hear),  or  Jack  Giffard  would 
have  been  the  third  commissioner.  I  suppose  the  choice  would 
fall  011  Saurin;  for  although  he  is  as  either  of  the  other  two,  and 
pretty  much  on  a  par  with  them  in  rancour,  yet  I  will  very  can- 
didly confess,  I  think  him  rather  superior  in  other  respects  to 
Gifikrd.  He  would,  therefore,  be  chosen ;  I  take  it  for  granted; 
and  what  a  state  this  would  be  for  Ireland? — the  grandson  of  a 
French  Huguenot  sitting  in  judgment  on  the  Catholic  hierarchy 
of  the  land !  A  man,  belonging,  in  fact,  to  the  o:ily  sect  of  Pro- 
testants who,  even  under  persecution,  asserted  the  atrocious  and 
unshaken  principle  of 'intolerance,  and  afforded  to  those  who  de- 
prived them  of  liberty  of  conscience,  the  semblance  of  an  excuse 
by  avowing,  that  if  they  were  themselves  in  power  they  would 
persecute  in  their  turn !  With  what  delight  would  Mr.  Saurin 


1C 8  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

hold  his  inquisi  ons,  under  the  pretence  of  examining  into  the 
loyalty  of  the  candidates  for  the  mitre,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
discovering  and  excluding  the  talent,  the  integrity,  and  the  piety 
of  our  priesthood ! 

And,  if  these  commissioners — if  Saurin  and  Duigenan,  Peel 
and  Lord  Manners,  should  not  be  sufficient  to  exclude  from  the 
prelacy  all  the  piety,  the  integrity,  and  the  talent  of  the  Catho- 
lic priesthood,  should  they  so  neglect  their  duty,  as  to  allow  a 
single  worthy  man  to  exercise  episcopal  functions  in  Ireland,  the 
Lord  Lieutenant  would,  under  the  "chatter  of  emancipation" — 
for  I  like  the  expression — have  had  it  in  his  power  to  remove 
them  from  that  office,  and  to  substitute  others  who  would  care- 
fully abstain  from  committing  any  similar  mistake. 

So  that  if  this  bill  had  passed  into  A  law,  some  accident  might, 
perhaps,  have  given  us,  at  one  time  or  the  other,  one  respectable 
bishop.  It  would  have  been  impossible  that  we  could  have  had 
a  second,  or  any  other,  save  from  among  the  most  sv.pple  and 
pliant  tools  and  slaves  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Castl«. 

I  will  not  task  you  as  Catholics,  but  I  will  boldly  demand  ef 
you  as  Irishmen,  whether  you  do  not  rejoicft  at  having  escaped 
from  an  act  of  parliament,  the  necessary  consequences  of  which 
I  have  thus  laid  before  you?  (Hear,  hear,  hoar.)  Do  you  not  re- 
joice, that  the  corrupt  influence  of  the  government  is  not  to  be 
extended  to  your  church,  and  that  there  remains,  and  will  re- 
main, in  Ireland,  one  spot  free  from  ministerial  pollution,  and 
that  your  bishops  are  not  to  be  degraded  to  the  subserviency  of 
gangers  and  tide-waiters,  nor  your  priesthood  to  the  dependence 
of  police  constables?  (Hear,  hear.)  If  your  feelings  and  opinions 
be,  as  your  approbation  of  those  sentiments  proclaim  them  to  be, 
accordant  with  mine — if  you  dread  as  Catholics,  and  abhor  as 
Irishmen,  the  extension  of  the  influence  of  the  servants  of  the 
crown,  an  influence  equally  fatal  to  religion  and  to  liberty,  you 
will  join  with  all  your  hearts,  in  the  unfcnimous  adoption  of  my 
motion.  (Loud  cheers.) 

The  bishops  have  stood  between  yor  and  this  bill ;  they  have 
stood  between  you  and  the  mephitic  breath  of  ministerial  corrup- 
tion; they  have  stood  in  the  front  of  the  battle  of  Ireland,  and 
they  deserve  that,  without  any  regard  to  the  event,  the  first 
praise  a«d  glory  should  be  theirs,  liecollect,  too,  that  your  re- 
fusal to  adopt  my  motion,  if  it  were  possible  you  should  refuse 
to  adopt  it,  would  imply  an  appro1  .ation  01  this  most  paltry  and 
misconceived  bill.  To  refuse  ycn.r  thanks  to  the  Catholic  pre- 
"  Ireland,  would  be  to  declare  that  thcv  deserve  censure. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  1 6i) 

If  you  think  so,  reject  my  motion;  but  no,  no,  it  ii  irr  possible 
you  could  bear  the  name  or  form  of  Irishmen,  and  ceDJU*e  the 
rejection  of  this  absurd  and  mischievous  bill.  (Cheers.) 

I  shall  say  one  word  more  and  conclude.  Perhaps  +h«re  are 
amongst  you  men  who  would  confide  in  the  liberality  of  ymr 
enemies.  If  such  there  be,  let  him,  I  entreat,  but  recollect  the 
ruffian  shout  of  English  insolence,  with  which  the  declaration  of 
the  majority  against  the  only  valuable  clause  in  this  bill  was  re- 
ceived. Oh !  may  that  be  the  last  shout  of  English  victory  over 
poor,  fallen,  and  degraded  Ireland !  (Hear,  hear.)  May  the 
measure  of  English  iniquities,  and  of  English  triumphs  over  us 
be  full,  and  the  day-star  of  Ireland  at  length  arise.  (Hear,,  hear, 
hear.) 

But  they  have  triumphed,  they  have  defeated,  and  they  have 
insulted  us.  Oh,  fortunate  Napoleon  !  it  is  thus  the  leaders  of 
your  foes  have  ever  conducted  themselves.  Of  little  avail  was 
your  victory  at  Lutzen  to  you,  compared  with  this  victory !  The 
men  who  defeated  your  legions  at  Barrossa  and  Vimiera,  at  Ba- 
dajoz  and  Salamanca,  are  degraded  although  they  are  brave,  and 
are  insulted  because  of  their  fidelity.  Their  valour  is  disheart- 
ened by  being  refused  its  just  reward,  and  their  honour  is  in- 
sulted, and  tarnished,  and  trod  under  the  hoof  of  the  yelling  and 
triumphant  spirit  of  English  bigotry  ! 

They  defeated  you,  but  you  are  now  revenged ;  your  English 
allies  havf  defeated  them,  and  added  contumely  and  disgrace  to 
defeat.  Without  a  bribe  or  a  subsidy  from  you,  have  these  3ug- 
lish  fought  your  battles  :  and  if 'these  your  most  useful  allies 
have  been  paid,  it  has  been  out  of  another  treasury  than  yours. 
(Hear,  hoar.)  I  shall  say  no  more — I  cannot  trust  mysolf  on 
this  maddening  subject.  This  last  insult  is  indelibly  written  on 
mine  and  every  other  Irish  "heart.  (Hear,  hear.)  There  it  shall 
live  for  ever  ;  we  may  forgive  it,  but  it  shall  never,  neysr,  be 
forgotten.  (Hear,  hear,  and  cheering  for  several  minutes.)  Mr. 
O'Connell  then  moved — 

"  That  the  most  respectful  thanks  of  the  Catholic  Board  be  given  to 
the  Most  Rev.  and  Right  Rev.  the  Catholic  Prelates  in  Ireland,  for 
their  communication  to  us  this  day,  and  for  their  ever  vigilant  and  reg- 
ions attention  to  the  interests  of  the  Catholic  church  in  Ireland." 

Major  Bry«n  seconded  the  motion,  and  Mr.  Byrne  spoke  warmly  in  its  support. 

Anthony  Strong  Hussey,  Esq.,  rose  to  move  an  amendment  It  was  to  the  effect,  "  tha* 
All  the  words  after  the  word  'communication'  should  be  omitted  ;"  that  is  to  say,  thank 
tne  prelatM  biraply  for  the  communication  they  had  that  day  made  to  the  Board  through 
Mr  OT.onnoN,  and  to  leave  out  that  Branch  of  the  motion  which  went  to  thanv- 1>»»^  f>- 


170  SELECT  SPEECHES  OT 

utlieir  ever  vigilant  and  Kealons  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  Catholic  church  In  Ire- 
land." 

Counsellor  Bellew  seconded  and  supported  the  motion,  in  a  long  and  able,  tut  most  dlv 
creditable  speech 


REPLY  TO  MR.  BELLEW. 

Mr.  O'Connell  rose  and  spoke  as  follows : — 

At  this  late  hour,  and  in  the  exhausted  state  of  the  meeting, 
it  requires  all  the  impulse  of  duty  to  overcome  my  determina- 
tion to  allow  the  debate  to  be  closed  without  any  reply  ;  but  a 
speech  has  been  delivered  by  the  learned  gentleman  (Mr.  Bellewy, 
which  I  cannot  suffer  to  pass  without  further  answer. 

My  eloquent  friend,  Mr.  O'Gorman,  has  already  powerfully 
exposed  some  of  its  fallacies ;  but  there  were  topics  involved  m 
that  speech  which  he  has  not  touched  upon,  and  which,  it  seems 
to  me,  I  owe  it  to  the  Catholics  and  to  Ireland  to  attempt  to 
refute. 

It  was  a  speech  of  much  talent,  and  much  labour  and  pre- 
paration. 

Mr.  Bellew  declared  that  he  had  spoken  extempore. 

Well,  (said  Mr.  O'Connell,)  it  was,  certainly,  an  able  speech, 
^fld  we  shall  see  whether  this  extempore  effort  of  the  learned 
gentleman  will  appear  in  the  newspapers  to-morrow,  in  the  pre- 
cise words  in  which  it  was  uttered  this  day.  I  have  no  skill  in 
prophecy,  if  it  does  not  happen  ;  and  if  it  does  so  happen,  it  will, 
certainly  be  a  greater  miracle,  than  that  the  learned  gentleman 
should  have  made  an  artful  and  ingenuous,  though,  I  confess,  I 
think  a  very  mischievous  speech,  without  preparation. 

I  beg  to  say,  that,  in  replying  to  him  and  to  the  other  sup- 
porters of  the  amendment,  I  mean  to  speak  with  great  personal 
respect  of  them ;  but  that  I  feel  myself  bound  to  treat  their 
arguments  with  no  small  degree  of  reprehension.  The  learned 
gentleman  naturally  claims  the  greater  part  of  my  attention. 
The  ingenuity  with  which  he  has,  I  trust,  gratuitously  advocated 
our  bigoted  enemies,  and  the  abundance  in  which  he  has  dealt 
out  insinuations  against  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  entitle  his  dis- 
course to  the  first  place  in  my  reprobation.  Yet  I  shall  take 
the  liberty  of  saying  a  passing  word  of  the  other  speakers,  be- 
fore I  arrive  at  him ;  he  shall  be  last,  but  I  promise  him,  not 
least  in  my  consideration. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  171 

The  opposition  to  the  general  vote  of  thanks  to  the  bishops 
was  led  by  my  friend  Mr.  Hussey.  I  attended  to  his  speech 
with  that  regard  which  I  always  feel  for  anything  that  cornea 
from  him  ;  1  attended  to  it  in  the  expectation  of  hearing  from 
his  shrewd  and  distinct  mind  something  like  argument  or  rea- 
soning against  this  expression  of  gratitude  to  our  prelates.  But, 
my  lord,  I  was  entirely  disappointed ;  argument  there  was  not 
any — reasoning  there  was  none  ;  the  sum  and  substance  of  hi? 
discourse  was  literally  this,  that  he  (Mr.  Hussey)  is  a  man  of 
a  prudent  and  economical  turn  of  mind,  that  he  sets  a  great 
value  on  everything  that  is  good,  that  praise  is  excellent,  and, 
therefore,  he  is  disposed  to  be  even  stingy  and  niggard  of  it  ; 
that  my  motion  contains  four  times  too  much  of  that  excellent 
article,  and  he,  therefore,  desires  to  strike  off  three  parts  of  my 
motion,  and  thinks  that  one  quarter  of  his  praise  is  full  enough 
for  any  bishops,  and  this  the  learned  gentleman  calls  an  amend- 
ment. (Hear,  hear,  and  a  laugh.) 

Mr.  Bagot  came  next,  and  he  told  us  that  he  had  made  a 
speech  but  a  fortnight  ago,  which  we  did  not  understand,  and 
he  has  now  added  another  which  is  unintelligible  ;  and  so,  be- 
cause he  was  misunderstood  before,  and  cannot  be  comprehended 
at  present,  he  concludes,  most  logically,  that  the  bishops  are 
wrong,  and  that  he  and  Mr.  Hussey  are  right.  (Hear,  hear,  and 
laughter.) 

Sir  Edward  Bellew  was  the  next  advocate  of  censure  on  the 
Bishops  ;  he  entertained  us  with  a  sad  specimen  of  minor  polem- 
;us,  and  drew  a  learned  and  lengthened  distinction  between  essen- 
tial and  non-essential  discipline  ;  and  he  insisted,  that  by  virtue 
of  this  distinction,  that  which  was  called  schism  by  the  Catholic 
prelates,  could  be  changed  into  orthodoxy  by  an  Irish  baronet. 
This  distinction  between  essential  and  non-essential,  must,  there- 
fore, be  very  beautiful  and  beautifying.  It  must  be  very  sub- 
lime, as  it  is  very  senseless,  unless,  indeed,  he  means  to  tell  us, 
that  it  contains  some  secret  allusion  to  our  enemies.  For  ex- 
ample, that  the  Duke  of  Richmond  affords  an  instance  of  the 
essential,  whilst  my  Lord  Manners  is  plainly  non-essential ;  that 
Paddy  Duigenan  is  essential  in  perfection,  and  the  foppish  Peel 
is,  in  nature,  without  essence  j  that  Jack  Giffard  h,  surely,  of 
the  essential  breed,  whilst  Mr.  Willy  Saurin  is  a  dog  of  a  differ- 
ent colour.  (Hear,  and  laughter.) 

Such,  I  presume,  is  the  plain  English  of  the  worthy  baronet's 
dissertation.  Translated  tkus,  it  clearly  enough  alludes  to  tne 
new  commission  ;  but  it  would  be  more  difficuP  ;o  show  how  tt 


172  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

applied  in  argument  against  my  motion.  I  really  did  not  expect 
so  whimsical  an  opposition  from  the  honourable  baronet.  I*. 
there  be  any  feeling  of  disappointment  about  him  for  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  double  Veto  bill,  he  certainly  ought  not  to  take  re- 
venge on  the  Board,  by  bestowing  on  us  all  the  tediousness  of 
incomprehensible  and  insane  theology.  I  altogether  disclaim 
reasoning  with  him,  and  I  freely  consent  that  those  who  relist 
his  authority  as  a  theologian,  should  vote  against  the  prelates. 

And,  now,  I  address  myself  to  the  learned  brother  of  the  theo- 
logical baronet.     He  began  by  taking  great  merit  to  himself,  and 
demanding  great  attention  from  you,  because  i;e  ?»ys  that  he 
has  so  rarely  addressed  you.     You  should  yield  to  him,  he  says, 
because  he  so  seldom  requires  your  assent.     It  reminds  me  of 
the  prayer  of  the  English  ofn\  er  before  battle  :  "  Great  Lord, 
said  he,  during  the  forty  years  1  have  lived,   I  never  troubled 
you  before  with  a  single  prayer.     I  have,  therefore,  a  right,  that 
you  should  grant  me  one  request,  and  do  just  as  I  desire,  for 
this  once."     (Hear,  hear,  and  laughter.)     Such  was  the  mannei 
in  which  the  learned  gentleman  addressed  us  ;  he  begs  you  wil 
confide  in  his  zeal  for  your  interests,  because  he  has  hitherto  con 
fined  that  zeal  to  his  own  (loud  and  continued  cries  of  hear,  hear. 
He  desires  that  you  will  rely  upon  his  attention  to  your  affair? 
because  he  has  been  heretofore  inattentive  to  them ;  and  tha 
you  may  depend  on  his  anxiety  for  Catholic  Emancipation,  ina* 
much  as  he  has  abstained  from  taking  any  step  to  attain  tha 
measure.     (Hear,) 

Quite  different  are  my  lium-de  claims  on  your  notice — quite 
different  are  the  demands  I  make  on  yo*.ir  confidence.  I  humbly 
solicit  it,  because  I  have  sacrificed,  and  do,  and  ever  will  sacri- 
fice, my  interest  to  yours — because  I  have  attended  to  the  vary- 
ing posture  of  your  affairs,  and  sought  for  Catholic  Emancipa- 
tion, with  an  activity  and  energy  proportioned  to  the  great  ol>- 
ject  of  our  pursuit.  I  do,  therefore,  entreat  your  attention 
whilst  1  unravel  the  spider-web  of  sophistry  with  which  the 
learned  gentleman  has  this  day  sought  to  embarrass  and  dis- 
figure your  cause. 

His  discourse  was  divided  into  three  principal  heads,  i^irst, 
he  charged  the  Catholic  prelates  with  indiscretion.  Secondly 
he  charged  them  with  error.  And  lastly,  he  charged  the  Catho- 
lics with  bigotry  ;  and  with  the  zeal  and  anxiety  of  an  hired 
advocate,  he  gratuitously  vindicated  the  intolerance  of  our  op- 
pressors. I  beg  your  patience,  whilst  I  follow  the  learned 
irentleman  through  this  threefold  arrangement,  of  his  subject.  J 


DANIEL  Q'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  173 

shall,  however,  invert  the  order  of  his  arra  gement,  and  begin 
with  his  third  topic. 

His  argument,  in  support  of  the  irJkolerants,  runs  thus.  First, 
he  alleges  that  the  Catholics  are  attached  to  their  religion  with 
a  bigoted  zeal.  I  admit  the  zeal  but  I  utterly  deny  the  bigotry. 
He  seems  to  think  I  overcharge  his  statement ;  perhaps  I  do  ; 
but  I  feel  confident  that,  in  substance,  this  accusation  amcuated 
to  a  direct  charge  of  bigotry.  Well,  having  charged  the  Catho- 
lics with  a  bigoted  attachment  to  their  church,  and  having  truly 
stated  our  repugnance  to  any  interference  on  the  part  of  the 
secretaries  of  the  Castle  with  our  prelates,  he  proceeded  to  insist 
that  those  feelings  on  our  part  justified  the  apprehensions  of  the 
Protestants.  The  Catholics  (said  Mr.  Bellew)  are  alarmed  foi 
their  church ;  why  should  not  the  Protestants  be  alarmed  als 
for  theirs  ?  The  Catholic  (said  he)  desires  safety  for  his  reU 
gion ;  why  should  not  the  Protestant  require  security  for  his  s 
When  you,  Catholics,  express  your  anxiety  for  the  purity  of  youi 
faith  (adds  the  learned  advocate),  you  demonstrate  the  necessity 
there  is  for  the  Protestant  to  be  vigilant  for  the  preservation  of 
hia  belief;  and  hence,  Mr.  Bellew  concludes,  that  it  is  quite 
natural,  and  quite  justifiable  in  the  Liverpools  and  Eldons  of 
the  Cabinet,  to  invent  and  insist  upon  guards  and  securities, 
vetoes,  and  double  vetoes,  boards  of  control,  and  commissions  for 
loyalty. 

Before  1  reply  to  this  attack  upon  us,  and  vindication  of  our 
enemies,  let  me  observe,  that,  however  groundless  the  learned 
gentleman  may  be  in  argument,  his  friends  at  the  Castle  will,  at 
least,  have  the  benefit  of  boasting,  thac  such  assertions  have  been 
made  by  a  Catholic,  at  the  Catholic  Board. 

And,  now,  see  how  futile  and  unfounded  his  reasoning  is  :  he 
says,  that  our  dislike  to  the  proposed  commission  justifies  the 
suspicion  in  which  the  plan  of  such  commission  originated  ;  that 
our  anxiety  for  the  preservation  of  our  church  vindicates  those 
who  deem  the  proposed  arrangement  necessary  for  the  protection 
of  theirs — a  mode  of  reasoning  perfectly  true,  and  perfectly  ap- 
plicable, if  we  sought  any  interference  with,  or  control  over,  the 
Protestant  Church.  If  we  desired  to  form  any  board  or  com- 
mission to  control  or  to  regulate  the  appointment  of  their  bishops, 
deans,  archdeacons,  rectors,  or  curates  ;  if  we  asked  or  required 
that  a  single  Catholic  should  be  consulted  upon  the  management 
of  the  Protestant  Church,  or  of  its  revenues  or  privileges ;  then, 
indeed,  would  the  learned  gentleman  be  right  in  his  argument, 
and  then  would  he  have,  by  our  example,  vindicated  our  enemies. 


174  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

But  the  fact  does  not  bear  him  out ;  for  we  do  not  seek,  nor 
desire,  nor  would  we  accept  of,  any  kind  of  interference  with  the 
Protestant  Church.  We  disclaim  and  disavow  any  kind  of  con- 
trol over  it.  We  ask  not,  nor  would  we  allow,  any  Catholic 
authority  over  the  mode  of  appointment  of  their  clergy.  Nay, 
^ve  are  quite  content  to  be  excluded  for  ever  from  even  ad- 
vising his  Majesty,  with  respect  to  any  matter  relating  to  or 
concerning  the  Protestant  Church — its  rights,  its  properties,  or 
its  privileges.  I  will,  for  my  own  part,  go  much  further ;  and 
I  do  declare,  most  solemnly,  that  I  would  feel  and  express  equal, 
if  not  stronger,  repugnance  to  the  interference  of  a  Catholic  with 
the  Protestant  Church,  than  that  I  have  expressed  and  do  feel  to 
any  Protestant  interference  with  ours.  In  opposing  their  inter- 
ference with  us,  I  content  myself  with  the  mere  war  of  words. 
But  if  the  case  were  reversed — if  the  Catholic  sought  this  control 
over  the  religion  of  the  Protestant,  the  Protestant  should  com- 
mand my  heart,  my  tongue,  my  arm,  in  opposition  to  so  unjust 
and  insulting  a  measure.  So  help  me  God !  I  would  in  that 
case  not  only  feel  for  the  Protestant  and  speak  for  him,  but  I 
would  fight  for  him,  and  cheerfully  sacrifice  my  life  in  the  de- 
fence of  the  great  principle  for  which  I  have  ever  contended — 
the  principle  of  universal  and  complete  religious  liberty.  (Loud 
and  repeated  cheers.) 

Then,  can  any  thing  be  more  absurd  and  untenable  than  the 
argument  of  the  learned  gentleman,  when  you  see  it  stripped  of  the 
false  colouring  he  has  given  it  ?  It  is  absurd  to  say,  that  merely 
because  the  Catholic  desires  to  keep  his  religion  free,  the  Pro- 
testant is  thereby  justified  in  seeking  to  enslave  it.  Reverse  the 
position,  and  see  whether  the  learned  gentleman  will  adopt  or 
enforce  it.  The  Protestant  desires  to  preserve  his  religion  free ; 
would  that  justify  the  Catholic  in  any  attempt  to  enslave  it  ?  I 
will  take  the  learned  advocate  of  intolerance  to  the  bigoted  court 
of  Spain  or  Portugal,  and  ask  him,  would  he,  in  the  supposed 
case,  insist  that  the  Catholic  was  justifiable.  No,  my  lord,  he 
will  not  venture  to  assert  that  the  Catholic  would  be  so  ;  and  I 
boldly  tell  him,  that  in  such  a  case,  the  Protestant  would  be 
unquestionably  right,  the  Catholic,  certainly,  an  insolent  bigot. 
(Hear,  hear.) 

But  the  learned  gentleman  has  invited  me  to  a  discussion  of 
the  question  of  securities,  and  I  cheerfully  follow  him.  And  I 
do,  my  lord,  tissert,  that  the  Catholic  is  warranted  in  the  most 
scrupulous  and  timid  jealousy  of  any  English,  for  I  will  not  call 
it  Protestant,  (for  it  is  political,  and  not,  in  truth,  religions)  in- 


DANIEL  o'CONNELL.  ESQ.,  M.P.  175 

terferenee  with  his  church.  And  I  will  also  assert,  and  am  ready 
to  prove,  that  the  English  have  no  solid  or  rational  pretext  for 
requiring  any  of  those  guards,  absurdly  called  securities,  over  us 
or  our  religion. 

My  lord,  the  Irish  Catholics  never,  never  broke  their  faith — 
they  never  violated  their  plighted  promise  to  the  English.  I 
appeal  to  history  for  the  truth  of  my  assertion.  My  lord,  the 
English  never,  never  observed  their  faith  with  us,  they  never 
performed  their  plighted  promise ;  the  history  of  the  last  six 
hundred  years  proves  the  accuracy  of  my  assertion.  I  will  leave 
the  older  periods,  and  fix  myself  at  the  Revolution.  More  than 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  treaty  of 
Limerick  ;  that  treaty  has  been  honourably  and  faithfully  per- 
formed by  the  Irish  Catholics  ;  it  has  been  foully,  disgracefully 
and  directly  violated  by  the  English.  (Hear,  hear,  hear.)  Eng- 
lish oaths  and  solemn  engagements  bound  them  to  its  per- 
formance ;  It  remains  still  of  force  and  unperformed ;  and  the 
ruffian  yell  of  English  treachery  which  accompanied  its  first  vio- 
lation, has,  it  seems,  been  repeated  even  in  the  senate  house  at . 
the  last  repetition  of  the  violation  of  that  treaty.  They  rejoiced 
and  they  shouted  at  the  perjuries  of  their  ancestors — at  .their 
own  want  of  good  faith  or  common  sense. 

Nay,  are  there  not  present  men  who  can  tell  us,  of  their  own 
knowledge,  of  another  instance  of  English  treachery  ?  Was  not 
the  assent  of  many  of  the  Catholics  to  the  fatal — oh  !  the  fatal 
measure  of  the  Union  purchased  by  the  express  and  written  pro- 
mise of  Catholic  Emancipation,  made  from  authority  by  Lord 
Cornwallis,  and  confirmed  by  the  prime  minister,  Mr.  Pitt  ? 
And  has  that  promise  been  performed  1  or  has  Irish  credulity 
afforded  only  another  instance  of  English  faithlessness  ?  Now. 
my  lord,  I  ask  this  assembly  whether  they  can  confide  in  Eng- 
lish promises?  I  say  nothing  of  the  solemn  pledges  of  individuals. 
Can  you  confide  in  the  more  than  punic  faith  of  your  hereditary 
task-masters  ?  or  shall  we  be  accused  of  our  scrupulous  jealousy, 
when  we  reject,  with  indignation,  the  contamination  of  English 
control  over  our  church  ? 

But,  said  their  learned  advocate  (Mr.  Bellew),  they  have  a 
right  to  demand,  because  they  stand  in  need  of  securities.  I  deny 
the  right — I  deny  the  need.  There  is  not  any  such  right — there 
exists  no  such  necessity.  What  security  have  they  had  for  the 
century  that  has  elapsed  since  the  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Li- 
merick ?  What  security  have  they  had  during  these  years  of 
oppression  and  barbarous  and  bloody  legislation  1  What  security 


176  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

have  they  had  whilst  the  hereditary  claim  of  the  house  of  Stuart 
remained  1  And,  surely,  all  the  right  that  hereditary  descent 
could  give  was  vested  in  that  family  Let  me  not  be  misunder- 
stood. I  admit  they  had  nc  right ;  I  admit  that  their  right  was 
taken  away  by  the  people.  1  freely  admit  that,  on  the  contrary 
the  people  have  the  clear  right  to  cashier  base  and  profligate 
princes.  (Hear,  hear.)  What  security  had  the  English  from  our 
bishops  when  England  was  invaded,  and  that  the  unfortunate 
out  gallant  Prince  Charles  advanced  into  the  heart  of  England, 
guided  by  valour,  and  accompanied  by  a  handful  of  brave  men, 
who  had,  under  his  command,  obtained  more  than  one  victory  1 
He  was  a  man  likely  to  excite  and.  gratify  Irish  enthusiasm  ;  he 
was  chivalrous  and  brave  ;  he  was  a  man  of  honour,  and  a  gen- 
tleman ;  no  violator  of  his  word  ;  he  spent  not  his  time  ia  mak- 
ing his  soldiers  ridiculous,  with  horse-tails  and  white  feathers ; 
ne  did  not  consume  his  mornings  in  tasting  curious  drams,  and 
evenings  hi  gallanting  old  women.  What  security  had  the 
English  then  1  What  security  had  they  against  our  bishop*  or 
our  laity,  when  America  nobly  flung  off  the  yoke  that  had  be- 
come too  heavy  to  be  borne,  and  sought  her  independence  at  the 
risk  cf  her  being  ?  What  security  had  they  then  ?  I  will  tel) 
you,  my  lord.  Their  security  at  all  those  periods  was  perfect  and 
complete,  because  it  existed  in  the  conscientious  allegiance  of  the 
Catholics  ;  it  consisted  in  the  duty  of  allegiance  which  the  Irish 
Catholics  have  ever  held,  and  will,  I  trust,  ever  hold  sacred  ;  it 
consisted  in  the  conscientious  submission  to  legitimate  authority, 
however  oppressive  which  our  bishops  have  always  preached, 
and  our  laity  have  always  practised.  (Cheers.) 

And  now,  my  lord,  they  have  the  additional  security  of  our 
oaths,  of  our  ever-inviolated  oaths  of  allegiance ;  and  if  they  had 
emancipated  us,  they  would  have  had  the  additional  security  of 
our  gratitude  and  of  our  personal  and  immediate  interests:  We 
liave  gone  through  persecution  and  sorrow;  we  have  experienced 
oppression  and  affliction,  and  yet  we  have  continued  faithful 
How  absurd  to  think  that  additional  security  could  be  necesbary 
to  guard  against  conciliation  and  kindness  ! 

But  it  is  not  bigotry  that  requires  those  concessions  ;  they 
were  not  invented  by  mere  intolerance.  The  English  do  not  dis- 
like us  as  Catholics — they  simply  hate  us  as  Irish;  they  exhaust 
their  blood  and  treasure  for  the  Papists  of  Spain;  they  have 
long  observed  and  cherished  a  close  and  affectionate  alliance 
with  the  ignorant  and  bigoted  Papists  of  Portugal;  arid  now  they 
oxert  every  sinew  to  preserve  those  Purists  from  the  hourors  of  JL 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL    ESQ.,  M.P. 


foreign  yoke.  They  emancipated  the  French  Papists  in  Canada, 
and  a  German  Papist  is  allowed  to  rise  to  the  first  rank  in  his 
profession—  the  army  ;  he  can  command  not  only  Irish  but  even 
English  Protestants.  Let  us,  therefore,  be  just  ;  there  is  no  such 
horror  of  Popery  in  England  as  is  supposed  ;  they  have  a  great 
dislike  to  Irish  Papists  ;  but  separate  the  qualities—  put  the  filthy 
whiskers  and  foreign  visage  of  a  German  on  the  animal,  and  the 
Papist  is  entitled  to  high  favour  from  the  just  and  discriminating 
English.  We  fight  their  battles  ;  we  beat  their  enemies  ;  we 
pay  their  taxes,  and  we  are  degraded,  oppressed,  and  insulted 
Sloud  applause),  whilst  the  Spanish,  the  Portuguese,  the 
French,  and  the  German  Papists  are  courted,  cherished  and 

promoted. 

'  I  revert  now  to  the  learned  gentleman's  accusation  of  the 
bishops.  He  has  accused  them  of  error  in  doctrine  and  of  indis- 
cretion in  practice.  He  tells  us  that  he  is  counsel  to  the  college 
of  Maynooth,  and,  in  that  capacity,  he  seems  to  arrogate  to  him- 
selL?  much  theological  and  legal  knowledge.  I  concede  the  law 
but  I  deny  the  divinity;  neither  can  I  admit  the  accuracy  of  Oft 
euloo-iuin  which  he  has  pronounced  on  that  institution,  with  iw 
mongrel  board  of  control—  half  Papist  and  half  Protestant,  i 
was,  Indeed,  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  strange  want  of  talent 
_  for  the  silence  of  Irish  genius  which  has  been  remarked  within 
the  college.  I  now  see  it  easily  explained.  The  incubus  of  jea- 
lous and  rival  intolerance  sits  upon  its  walls,  and  genius,  and 
taste  and  talent  fly  from  the  sad  dormitory,  where  sleeps  the 
spirit  of  dulness.  I  have  heard,  indeed,  of  their  Crawleys  and 
these  converts,  but  where,  or  when,  will  that  college  produce  a 
Magee  or  a  Sandes,  a  M'Donnell,  or  a  Griffin?  When  will  the 
warm  heart  of  Irish  genius  exhibit  in  Maynooth  such  bright  ex- 
amples  of  worth  and  talent  as  those  men  disclose?  It  is  true, 
that  the  bigot  may  rule  in  Trinity  College;  the-  highest  station 
in  it  may  be  the  reward  of  writing  an  extremely  bigoted  and 
more  foolish  pamphlet;  but  still  there  is  no  conflicting  principle 
of  hostile  jealousy  in  his  rulers;  and,  therefore,  Irish  genius  does 
not  slumber  there,  nor  is  it  smothered  as  at  Maynooth. 

The  accusation  of  error  brought  against  the  bishops  oy  the 
learned  gentleman,  is  sustained  simply  upon  his  opinion  and 
authority.  The  matter  stands  thus:—  at  the  one  side,  we  have 
•che  most  rev.  and  right  rev.  the  Catholic  prelates  of  Ireland,  who 
ussert  that  there  is  schism  in  the  proposed  arrangement;  on  the 
other  side,  we  have  the  very  rev.  the  counsel  for  the  college  of 
Maynooth,  who  asserts  that  there  is  no  schism  in  that  arrange- 


178  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

ment.  These  are  the  conflicting  authorities.  The  rev.  prelates 
assert  the  one ;  he,  the  counsellor,  asserts  the  other ;  and,  as  we 
have  not  leisure  to  examine  the  point  here  doctrmally,  we  aro 
reduced  to  the  sad  dilemma  of  choosing  between  the  prelates 
and  the  lawyer.  (Laughter  and  cheers.)  There  may  be  a  want 
of  taste  in  the  choice  which  I  make,  but  I  confess  I  cannot  but 
prefer  the  bishops.  I  shall,  therefore,  say  with  them,  there 
would  be  schism  in  the  arrangement,  and  deny  the  assertion  oi 
the  rev.  counsel,  that  it  would  not  be  schism.  But  suppose  his 
reverence,  the  counsel  for  Maynooth,  was  right,  and  the  bishops 
wrong,  and  that  in  the  new  arrangement  there  would  be  no 
schism,  I  then  say,  there  would  be  worse;  there  would  be  cor- 
ruption, and  profligacy,  and  subserviency  to  the  Castle  in  it,  and 
its  degrading  effects  would  soon  extend  themselves  to  every  rank 
and  class  of  the  Catholics. 

I  now  come  to  the  second  charge  which  the  learned  gentleman, 
in  his  capacity  of  counsel  to  the  college  of  Maynooth,  has  brought 
against  the  bishops.  It  consists  of  the  high  crime  of  "  indiscre- 
tion." They  were  indiscreet,  said  he,  in  coming  forward  so  soon 
and  so  boldly.  What,  when  they  found  that  a.  plan  had  been 
formed  which  they  knew  to  be  schismatic  and  degrading — when 
they  found  that  this  plan  was  matured,  and  printed,  and  brought 
'nto  parliament,  and  embodied  in  a  bill,  and  read  twice  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  without  any  consultation  with,  and,  as  it 
were,  in  contempt  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland — shall  it  be  said, 
that  it  was  either  premature  or  indiscreet,  solemnly  and  loudly 
to  protest  against  such  plan !  If  it  were  indiscreet,  it  was  an 
indiscretion  which  I  love  and  admire — a  necessary  indiscretion, 
unless,  perhaps,  the  learned  counsel  for  Maynooth  may  imagine 
that  the  proper  time  would  not  arrive  for  this  protest  until  the 
oill  had  actually  passed,  and  all  protest  should  be  unavailing. 

No,  my  lord,  I  cannot  admire  this  thing  called  Catholic  dis- 
cretion, which  would  manage  our  affairs  in  secret,  and  declare 
our  opinions,  when  it  was  too  late  to  give  them  any  importance. 
Catholic  discretion  may  be  of  value  at  the  Castle ;  a  Catholic 
secret  may  be  earned,  to  be  discounted  there  for  prompt  pay- 
ment. The  learned  gentleman  may  also  tell  us  the  price  that 
Catholic  discretion  bears  at  the  Castle,  whether  it  be  worth  a 
place,  a  peerage,  or  a  pension.  (Loud  cheering.)  But,  if  it  have 
value  and  a  price  for  individuals,  it  is  of  no  worth  to  the  Catho- 
lic people.  I  reject  and  abjure  it  as  applicable  to  public  officers. 
Our  opinions  ought  to  be  formed  deliberately,  but  they  should 
!>e  announced  manfully  and  distinctly.  We  should  be  dcspi- 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  179 

cable,  and  deserve  to  continue  in  slavery.,  if  we  could  equivocate 
or  disguise  our  sentiments  on  those  subjects  of  vital  importance; 
and  I  call  upon  you  to  thank  the  Cathoiic  prelates,  precisely  be* 
cause  they  had  not  the  learned  gentleman's  quality  of  discretion, 
and  that  they  had  the  real  and  genuine  discretion,  which  made 
them  publish  resolutions  consistent  with  their  exalted  rank  and 
reverend  character,  and  most  consonant  to  the  wishes  and  view? 
of  the  Catholic  people  of  Ireland.  (Hear,  hear.) 

I  now  draw  to  a  close,  and  I  conjure  you  not  to  come  to  any 
division.  Let  the  amendment  be  withdrawn  by  my  learned 
friend,  and  let  our  approbation  of  our  amiable  and  excellent, 
our  dignified  and  independent  prelates,  be,  as  it  ought  to  be, 
unanimous.  \Ve  want  unanimity  ;  we  require  to  combine  in 
the  constitutional  pursuit  of  Catholic  Emancipation  ;  every  class 
and  mnk  of  the  Catholics — the  prelate  and  the  peer,  the  country 
gentleman  and  the  farmer,  the  peasant  and  his  priest ;  our  ca- 
reer is  to  begin  again ;  let  our  watchword  be  unanimity,  and 
our  object  be  plain  and  undisguised,  as  it  has  been,  namely, 
simple  Repeal.  (Loud  applause.)  Let  us  not  involve  or  em* 
barrass  ourselves  with  vetoes,  and  arrangements,  and  securities 
and  guards,  and  pretexts  of  divisions,  and  all  the  implements 
for  ministerial  corruption,  and  Castle  dominion ;  let  our  cry  be 
simple  Kepeal.  (Applause.) 

It  is  well — it  is  very  well  that  the  late  bill  has  been  rejected. 
I  rejoice  that  it  has  been  scouted.  Our  sapient  friends  at  Cork 
called  it  a  "  Charter  of  Emancipation."  You,  my  lord,  called 
it  so ;  but,  with  much  respect,  you  and  they  are  greatly  mis- 
taken. In  truth,  it  was  no  charter  at  all,  nor  like  a  charter  ; 
and  it  would  not  have  emancipated.  This  charter  of  emancipa- 
tion was  no  charter  j  and  would  give  no  emancipation.  As  a 
plain,  prose-like  expression,  it  was  unsupported  •  and,  as  a  figure 
and  fiction,  it  made  very  bad  poetry.  No,  my  lord,  the  bill 
would  have  insulted  your  religion,  and  done  almost  nothing  for 
your  liberties  ;  it  would  have  done  nothing  at  all  for  the  people 
—(loud  and  repeated  cries  of  hear,  hear) ;  it  would  send  a  few 
of  our  discreet  Catholics,  with  their  Castle-discretion,  into  the 
House  of  Commons,  but  it  would  not  have  enabled  Catholic 
peers  in  Ireland  to  vote  for  the  representative  peers  :  and  thus 
the  blunder  arose,  because  those  friends,  who,  I  am  told,  took 
BO  much  trouble  for  you,  examined  the  act  of  Union  only,  and 
did  not  take  the  trouble  of  examining  the  act  regulating  the 
mode  of  voting  for  the  representative  peers.  (Loud  cries  01 
near,  hear.) 


I. SO  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

The  bill  would  have  done  nothing  for  the  Catholic  bar,  save 
the  paltry  dignity  of  silk  gowns  ;  and  it  would  have  actually 
deprived  that  bar  of  the  places  of  assistant- barrister,  which  as 
the  law  stands,  they  may  enjoy.  It  would  have  done  nothing  in 
corporations — literally  nothing  at  all ;  and  when  I  pressed  this 
on  Mr.  Plunket,  and  pointed  out  to  him  the  obstacles  to  cor- 
porate rights,  in  a  conference  with  which,  since  his  return  to  Ire- 
land, he  honoured  me,  he  informed  me — and  informed  me,  of 
course,  truly — that  the  reason  why  the  corporations  could  not 
be  further  opened,  or  oven  the  Bank  of  Ireland  mentioned,  was, 
because  the  English  would  not  listen  to  any  violation  of  char- 
tered rights ;  and  this  bill,  my  lord — this  inefficient,  useless, 
and  insulting  bill — must  be  dignified  with  the  appellation  of  a 
"  Charter  of  Emancipation."  I  do  most  respectfully  entreat, 
iny  lord,  that  the  expression  may  be  well  considered  before  it  is 
used  again. 

And  now  let  me  entreat,  let  me  conjure  the  meeting  to  ban 
Ish  every  angry  emotion,  every  sensation  of  rivalship  or  oppo 
sition ;  let  us  recollect  that  we  owe  this  vote  to  the  unimpeached 
character  of  our  worthy  prelates.  Even  our  enemies  respec* 
diem ;  and,  in  the  fury  of  religious  and  political  calumny,  the 
breath  even  of  hostile  and  polemical  slander  has  aot  reached 
them.  Shall  Catholics,  then,  be  found  to  express,  or  even  to 
imply  censure  ? 

Recollect,  too,  that  your  country  requires  your  unanimous 
support.  Poor,  degraded,  and  fallen  Ireland !  has  you,  and,  I 
may  almost  say,  you  alone  to  cheer  and  sustain  her.  Her  friends 
have  been  hike-warm  and  faint-hearted  ;.  her  enemies  are  vigil- 
ant, active,  yelling,  and  insulting.  In  the  name  of  your  coun- 
try, I  call  on  you  not  to  divide,  but  to  consecrate  your  unani- 
mous efforts  to  her  support,  till  bigotry  shall  be  put  to  flight, 
and  oppression  banished  this  land  for  ever.  (Hear,  hear,  and 
loud  cheering.) 


EMANCIPATION— THE  REGENT'S  PLEDGE. 

AT  *  meeting  of  the  Catholic  Board,  on  the  29th  of  May,  1813,  Mr.  O'Connell  spoke  aa  fo 
lows,  upon  the  Regent's  pledge  relative  to  Catholic  Emancipation  :— 

He  said,  he  rose  to  make  the  motion  of  which  he  had  given 
aotice  on  Saturday  last,  relative  to  the  recorded  opinion  of  hi* 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  1«1 

Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent,  upoi  the  subject  of  the 
Catholic  claims. 

It  was  a  duty  which  he  felt  imposed  on  him  by  the  present 
posture  of  Catholic  affairs,  to  place  beyond  the  reach  of  contro- 
versy, present  or  future,  the  various  motives  which  had  encou- 
raged the  Catholics  of  Ireland  to  persevere  in  pressing  their  wants 
on  the  consideration  of  parliament.  Desirous  to  obtain  Eman- 
cipation through  the  legitimate  channels  of  the  constitution,  and 
J  would  not  accept  it  through  any  other,  I  wish  to  demcr-strate  to 
the  world,  that  we  have  had,  and  still  ought  to  retain,  the  highest 
possible  personal  encouragement  to  persevere  in  the  demand  of 
our  rights — to  show  that  those  rights  have  been  distinctly  and 
unequivocally,  deliberately  and  repeatedly  recognized  by  the 
very  first  personage  in  the  state. 

This  is  one  great  object  of  my  present  motion.  There  is  an- 
other, and  one  of  some  personal  and  national  interest.  I  wish 
to  justify  to  the  world  the  enthusiastic  effusion  of  affection  with 
which  the  first  approach  to  power  of  his  Royal  Highness  the 
Prince  Regent  was  gr3eted  by  so  humble  an  individual  as  myself 
— effusions  which  were  congenial  to  the  sentiments,  as  they  were 
freely  adopted  by  the  deliberate  assent  of  the  people  of  Ireland. 
I  desire  to  prove,  that  we  were  not  actuated  by  the  mere  delusion 
of  loyalty,  nor  by  the  expectations  of  royal  patriotism,  originating 
in  our  own  warmth  of  hope,  or  created  by  the  fertility  of  our 
own  fancy.  Onr  hopes  may  have  been  delusive,  but  they  were 
not  irrational. 

Allegiance  to  the  sovereign  has  been  long  the  pride  and  boast 
of  the  Catholic  people  of  Ireland — an  allegiance  not  created  by 
personal  kindness,  but  sustained  by  a  rigid  sense  of  duty.  The 
Catholics  were  loyal  to  the  ill-fated  and  oppressive  L<oTise  of 
Stuart.  Even  amidst  the  crimes  of  that  unfortunate  faoiily — and 
towards  the  Irish  they  were  very  criminal — even  amidst  the  crimes 
and  oppressions  of  that  family,  the  Irish  continued  faithful ;  and, 
in  the  season  of  their  distress,  when  the  Stuarts  deprived  them 
selves  of  all  other  friends,  the  Irish  Catholics  served  them  with 
a  zeal  and  a  bravery  proportioned  only  to  the  wants  of  their  for- 
mer oppressors.  Allegiance  then,  perhaps,  ceased  to  be  a  duty 
and  was  certainly  imprudent ;  but  the  Irish  heart  was  not  cold 
or  calculating,  and  it  cheerfully  spilled  its  dearest  blood  in  the 
protection  of  those  very  princes,  who,  in  the  hour  of  their  pro- 
sperity, had  insulted  and  plundered  them.  Carried  too  fai%  it 
vas  a  mistaken  and  an  absurd  principle  of  action ;  but  the  spring 


182  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

uas  not  lost  all  its  elasticity,  and  what  our  fathers  had  been,  the 
Catholics  of  the  present  day  were  inclined  to  be. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  certainly  appeared  to  justify  this  over  - 
weening  propensity  to  loyalty,  and  had  been  brought  up  in  the 
school  of  the  most  manly  and  honest  statesman  of  the  age — 
Charles  Jainss  Fox — a  man  who  inherited  so  much  of  fervour  of 
liberty,  that  it  glowed  in  his  heart  amidst  the  chilling  scenes  of 
parliamentary  profligacy,  and  was  never  extinguished,  even  by 
the  cold  damps  of  ministerial  corruption.  The  Prince  had  been 
long  dear  to  Ireland.  When  upon  his  Majesty's  first  illness  in 
1788,  Mr.  Pitt,  that  greatest  curse  that  ever  providence,  in  its 
wrath,  had  inflicted  on  England — when  Mr.  Pitt,  in  1788,  re- 
solved to  alter  the  constitution,  and,  in  point  of  fact,  disinherited 
the  Prince  of  his  due  succession  to  the  regal  power,  he  was  ap- 
plauded by  the  corrupt  tribe  of  borough-mongers,  whose  applause 
he  paid  for  with  the  public  money,  and  he  was  supported  by, 
what  was  then  called,  the  monied  interest,  with  whom  he  had 
bartered  and  sold  his  country.  Mr.  Pitt  accomplished  his  pur- 
pose in  England,  and  bequeathed  his  example  as  no  unproductive 
legacy  to  the  late  pious  Perceval. 

But  the  Irish  parliament  judged  more  rightly;  there  were 
borough-mongers  in  it  in  abundance.  There  were  corrupt  and 
bribed  men  in  it ;  but  there  was  an  Irish  heart  in  that  parlia- 
ment, that  more  than  once  triumphed  over  all  the  influence  of 
the  minister,  and  over  all  the  powers  of  corruption.  The  Irish 
parliament  decided — and  decided  justly — that,  as  upon  the  per- 
sonal demise  of  the  King,  the  regal  authority  would  belong,  of 
unquestionable  right  to  the  Prince ;  so,  upon  the  political  and 
moral  decease  of  the  reigning  sovereign — for  loss  of  reason  is 
surely  moral  and  political  decease — the  authority  of  the  crown 
ought,  by  the  closest  and  clearest  analogy,  belong  to  the  same 
prince. 

In  the  one  case,  George  the  Third  was,  for  any  of  the  pur- 
poses of  the  constitution,  as  much  dead  as  in  the  other ;  and  tho 
commensurate  consequences  ought  to  have  followed  in  one  case 
as  in  the  other,  It  was  thus  the  parliament  of  Ireland  deter- 
mined ;  and  the  Irish  people,  with  one  voice,  confirmed  that  de- 
cision. 

Who  can  forget  the  answers  of  his  Royal  Highness — who  can 
forget  now  he  talked  of  his  "affection  and  gratitude  to  the  gene- 
rous people  of  Ireland  T — how  he  promised  to  devote  his  life 
"  to  the  preservation  of  their  Hbertiea — to  the  establishment  of 
their  happiness  I" 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  183 

When,  after  a  silence  of  more  than  twelve  years,  the  Catholic 
question  was  revived  and  Brought  before  parliament  in  1805, 
we  had  the  meanness  (pardon  me  the  expression,  it  is  extorted 
by  truth^  to  apply  to  Mr.  Pitt  to  present  our  petition.  Mr. 
Pitt,  whose  written  pledge  in  favour  of  Catholic  Emancipetion, 
was  in  our  hands — Mr.  Pitt,  ever  consistent  in  abandoning  any 
principle  that  might  injure  his  interests,  refused  to  interfere  on 
our  behalf,  or  to  perform  his  promise. 

How  different  was  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Fox.  He  well  knew 
tkat  by  assisting  us,  he  would  increase  the  number  of  his  ene 
mies  in  England,  and  the  difficulty  of  his  attaining  power.  But 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  become  cur  advocate  ;  he  presented  the 
petition,  and  supported  it  by  one  of  those  powerful  bursts  of 
eloquence,  the  effects  of  which  upon  the  English  mind,  still  ope- 
rate in  our  favour.  At  that  period,  Mr.  Fox  was  the  intimate 
— the  particular  friend  of  the  Prince.  It  required  little  powei 
of  association  to  combine  the  wishes  of  the  one  with  the  senti- 
ments of  the  other.  And  although  the  Prince  did  not  attend 
the  House  of  Peers,  when  our  question  was  debated — though  he 
neither  spoke  in  the  house,  nor  voted  for  us,  yet  his  opinions 
were  not  concealed. 

Shortly  after  that  debate,  a  letter  was  written,  by  the  late 
Earl  of  Kenmare,  to  a  gentleman  still,  in  this  town,  stating  the 
substance  of  a  communication  made  to  him  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales  on  the  subject  of  our  claims,  in  which  the  Prince  most 
distinctly  recognized  the  justice  and  the  expediency  of  conces- 
sion to  us ;  excused  himself  for  yielding  to  the  obvious  motives 
of  delicacy,  which  prevented  him  at  that  period  from  taking  any 
public  part  on  our  behalf,  but  added  the  solemn  declaration  of 
his  determination  to  forward  our  relief  so  scon  as  he  might  have 
it  in  his  power  constitutionally  to  do  so.  Such,  Mr.  Chairman, 
was  the  substance  of  the  Prince's  pledge,  as  stated  in  the  letter 
of  the  Earl  ot  Kenmare.  It  contained  a  request,  that  the 
gentleman  to  whom  it  was  written  (a  Catholic  barrister  of  familj 
and  fortune,  and  of  eminence  in  his  profession.)  should  show  it 
to  many  of  the  Catholic  noblemen  and  gentlemen  in  Ireland,  so 
as  to  give  it  as  much  publicity  as  possible,  without  inserting  it 
in  the  newspapers. 

And,  here,  1  beg  leave  to  correct  an  error  into  which  I  was 
ied  on  this  subject  by  the  perusal  of  Lord  Kenmare's  letter.  I 
certainly  did  understand  his  lordship  to  have  stated,  that  the 
Prince's  sentiments  were  communicated  in  writing,  and  were 
transmitted  to  the  noble  earl,  by  Colonel  M'Mahon,  at  Chelten- 


184  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

ham.  How  I  could  have  been  mistaken  I  know  not,  but  it  is 
quite  certain  that  I  was  under  a  mistake  ;  for,  having  at  a  pub- 
lic meeting  asserted  the  existence  of  such  written  pledge  in  th« 
hands  of  Lord  Kenmare,  his  lordship  wrote  to  me  shortly  after 
to  say,  that  he  had  no  written  pledge  from  the  Prince — that  the 
tieclaration  made  to  him  by  his  Royal  Highness  was  not  in 
writing,  but  was  merely  verbal.  I  did  then  press  upon  his  lord- 
ship to  allow  me  to  put  before  the  public,  in  an  authentic  shape, 
me  particulars  of  such  verbal  declaration,  and  declared,  if  lie 
would  do  so,  my  readiness  to  contradict  the  existence  of  t^e 
pledge  in  writing.  But  I  could  not  succeed  in  obtaining  from 
him  the  publication  under  his  direct  sanction,  of  the  precise 
nature  and  of  the  particulars  of  a  communication  in  which  mii- 
.ions  are  interested. 

Since  that  period  the  noble  lord  is  no  more.  With  his  vir- 
tues, his  secret,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  is  buried.  Nothing  remains 
of  it  but  the  fading  recollection  of  persons  who  have  heard  the 
language  of  the  Prince  only  from  the  report  of  the  noble  earl. 
There  lives,  however,  another  noble  earl,  and  long  may  he  live 
for  Ireland — the  Earl  of  Fingal  (hear,  hear,)  to  whom  a  similar 
communication  was  made  by  the  Prince  of  Wales.  It  was  not 
made  in  any  confidence,  but  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  being 
circulated  amongst  the  people  of  Ireland,  and  to  serve  as  a  sooth 
ing  balm  to  assuage  the  fever  of  a  disappointment  created  by  a 
rejection  of  their  petition.  This  declaration  of  his  Royal  High- 
ness to  the  Earl  of  Fingal  contained  the  same  assertion  of  his 
having  been  prevented  by  motives  of  delicacy  and  respect  from 
giving  us  public  support,  and  of  his  conviction  of  the  justice  of 
our  claims,  and  his  determination  to  assist,  wherever  he  might 
be  able  to  afford  constitutional  assistance. 

I  am  enabled  to  be  thus  minute,  because  the  particulars  of 
his  communication  have  been  preserved  with  an  accuracy  suit- 
able to  their  importance.  The  Earl  of  Fingal,  who  is  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  much  more  by  the  unfading 
lustre  of  his  virtues,  than  by  his  exalted  rank  and  ancient  hon- 
ours— Lord  Fingal,  on  the  very  day  of  his  communication,  put 
the  particulars  upon  paper ;  and  as  Lord  Clifden,  and  the  late 
Lord  Petro,  were  present  at  the  conversation,  the  paper  was 
shown  to  them  on  the  same  day,  and  they  declared  the  perfect 
accuracy  of  its  contents.  This  it  is  that  I  am  desirous  should 
come  before  the  public,  and  remain  for  ever  as  an  authentic 
document  of  the  free  and  unbiassed  opinion  and  judgment  of  hip 
Uoyal  II i^-.h ;:-•>«  the  Prince  of  Wnlos  in  our  fstvoi.r 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M  ».  185 

I  repeat  that  no  delicacy  is  violated  by  the  disclosure  of  this 
fact  ;  it  was  communicated  to  me  without  any  circumsrnnc.; 
betokening  confidence.  I  heard  it  from  the  noble  earl  in  Fitss- 
patrick's  shop  ;  there  were  three  or  four  others  present — one  of 
whom  was  my  respected  friend  Captain  Bryan  ;  and  indeed,  from 
its  nature,  it  could  not  have  been  intended  for  any  secrecy. 

But  this  was  not  the  only  authentic  proof  we  had  of  the  seii- 
jmentsof  his  Roya!  Highness;  there  are  several  gentlemen  pre- 
flent,  to  whom  a  similar  pledge  from  the  Prince  was  commum- 
%Ciited,  by  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  whilst  he  was  Lord 
Lieutenant  in  tais  country.  Indeed,  I  understand  that  nothing 
could  be  more  distinct  than  the  promises  held  out  in  that  respect 
by  the  Duke  of  Bedford  ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his 
Grace  did  not  so  promise  without  the  express  authority  of  his 
Jioyal  Higfmess.  With  these  sure  groiwids  of  hope — with  a  re- 
liance upon  the  honour  and  integrity  of  the  Prince — with  all  the 
confidence  inspired  by  his  declaration,  that  power  was  a  trust  for 
the  people,  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  viewed  his  accession  to  power 
witli  the  most  ardent,  the  most  affectionate  demonstrations  of 
loyalty. 

That  loyalty  does,  and  will  ever  remain  unshaken;  but  subse- 
quent events  have  damped  the  ardour  of  our  affections,  and 
turned  into  the  cold  observances  of  duty,  tfiose  feelings  of  en- 
thusiastic attachment  with  which  we  were  prepared  to  support 
a  prince  who  should  rule  for  the  good  of  the  people.  If  thosu 
feelings  had  been  encouraged — if  their  growth  had  been  fostered, 
what,  a  different  scene  would  Ireland  at  this  day  present !  Iu- 
fctead  of  detaining  an  army  in  her  Barracks,  her  entire  population, 
her  instinctively  martial  population,  would  have  furnished  t.-u 
armies  for  the  public  service,  and  the  tranquillity  of  the  laud 
would  be  secured  by  an  unarmed  police  constable.  Would  tc 
God  I  could  contribute  to  produce  such  a  state  of  the  public 
mind  !  But,  if  we  cannot  revive  those  hopes,  let  us,  at  least, 
j.ive  the  grounds  upon  which  they  stood  as  an  imperishable  re- 
:-ord  of  our  right  to  freedom.  Our  children  will,  in  addition  to 
the  arguments  in  favour  of  their  liberty,  bo  able  to  adduce  the 
4'ithority  of,  first,  nearly  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Lords  ;  se- 
condly, of  repeated  majorities  in  the  House  of  Commons;  and 
thirdly,  of  his  J loyal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent. 

Besides,  the  authentication  ot'  this  pledge  may  serve  as  a  check 
upon  the  favourites  and  ministers  of  his  Royal  Highness  With 
the  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  these  pledges,  that  pious  and 
very  exemplary  character,  Lord  Yarmouth,  may  cease  to  i  iftiso 

N 


ISO  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

scruples  into  the  mind  of  the  Prince.  Nothing  can  be  more  ad- 
mirable than  Lord  Yarmouth's  zeal  for  the  Prbtestant  religion  ; 
ho  is  an  ornament  to  the  Protestant  church,  and  it  is  certainly 
a  consolation  to  the  people  of  Ireland  to  be  able  to  attribute  theif 
sufferings  to  the  hallowed  source  of  that  noble  lord's  piety.  But 
Ke  will  not,  zealot  though  he  be,  he  will  not  adviy3  his  royal 
master  to  leave  those  his  solemn  pledges  unredeemed  j  neither 
will  any  minister  attempt  to  advise  the  Prince  to  violate  his  word. 
f.r  10  enter  into  an  unconstitutional  and  unbecoming  canvas* 
agiiinst  us,  or  to  hold  out  promotion  in  the  army  os  a  reward 
for  betraying  our  rights;  neither  will  any  prime  minister  of  the 
?leg'jiit  dare  to  suggest  the  holding  up  of  any  office,  such,  for  ex- 
aznple,  as  that  lately  held  by  Lord  Ormonde,  to  auction,  tc  as- 
certain who  could  bid  most  parliamentary  interest  against  the 
Catholics,  as  the  price  of  such  a  place. 

Nothing  of  that  kind  can  occur  to  the  mind  of  a  minister  who 
beholds  how  solemnly  his  Royal  Highness  has  promised  to  us  hig 
countenance  and  protection.  I  think,  therefore,  you  will  sot 
hesitate  to  accede  to  my  motion.  My  object  is,  that  it  should 
be  carried  into  effect  in  the  manner  most  respectful  to  the  Earl 
of  Fingal ;  I  feel  for  that  noble  lord  the  most  profound  respect. 
Tbo  Irish  people  owe  him  and  they  cherish  for  him,  the  most 
unbounded  gratitufle.  I  shall  deeply  regret  if  my  motion  gives 
him  one  unpleasant  sensation  ;  I  think  it  is  not  ^calculated,  as  it 
certainly  is  not  intended  to  do  so.  And  should  his  lordship 
think  that  this  is  not  the  moment  to  give  to  the  public  the  docu- 
ment in  question,  I  shall  respect  the  delicacy  that  may  suggest 
a  decision,  which  in  itself  I  would  consider  unikvourable  to  the 
just  hopes  of  the  Catholics. 

Mr  O'Connell  concluded  by  moving — 

"  That  the  secretary  be  directed  to  write  to  the  Earl  of  Finga*,  in  the 
most  respectful  manner,  to  request  of  him  to  communicate  to  'he  Board 
the  contents  of  the  paper,  containing  the  declaration  of  his  Royal  High- 
ness the  Prince  of  Wales  on  the  Catholic  ciaims,  made  to  his  Lordahip, 
:n  the  presence  of  Viscount  Clifden  and  Lord  Petre." 

Major  Bryan  bore  testimony  to  the  accuracy  of  Mr.  O'Connell  in  the  statement  he  had 
raaie  relative  to  Lord  Fingal.  He  (Major  Bryan)  had  oeen  present,  30  was  also  Sir  Francit 
Gooid.  when  the  noble  earl  i elated  the  entire  circumstance*. of  the  declaration  of  the 
Kegent. 

Mr.  Bagot  said  he  was  happy  that  the  result  of  the  learned  gentleman's  oration  was  suet 
A*  to  save  him  the  trouble  of  going  over  the  numerous  topics  he  had  introduced,  and  tr 
tender  it  only  necessary  for  him  to  give  a  short  opiniou  upon  the  expediency  of  his  motion 
tn  It  respected  the  personal  feelings  of  Lord  Fingal.  And  as  it  regarded  his  lordship's  prl 
vswe  sentiment  he  had  no  hesitation  in  avowing  that  \i  met  with  Ms  moat  decided  oj-wi^ 


DANIEL  O'<JONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  18* 

>rob!rtivMi.  He  knew  Lord  Fin  gal  would  not  consent  to  the  request  that  was  about  to  be 
made  to  him— nay,  he  had  authority  for  avowing  the  fact. 

Why  should  he  then  be  placed  in  an  invidious  and  disagreeable  position  ? 

Mr.  Bagot  (in  the  words  of  the  report  we  quote— viz.,  the  Dublin  Evening  Post)  con- 
cluded a  very  di^nitied  and  animated  speech,  by  deprecating  a  warfare  with  the  first 
magistrate  of  these  realms,  who  could  do  service,  and  might  do  injury.  Some  gentlemen 
•eeniud  to  consider  such  &  warfare  extremely  useful  in  promoting  the  success  of  the  cause 
of  Ireland. 

Mr.  O'Connell  said  he  had  but  one  word  to  reply  to  that  as- 
sertion of  Mr.  Bagot's,  which  attributed  to  the  violence  and  dis- 
respectful conduct  of  the  Catholic^,  the  opposition  they  had  to 
encounter  ft  om  a  certain  quarter.  That  gentleman  was  strangely 
mistaken.  It  was  surprising  how  he  could  be  so  very  much 
mistaken.  It  was  long  before  the  resolutions  he  alluded  to,  that 
the  opposition  to  the  Catholics  commenced. 

Nay,  long  before  those  resolutions,  and  while  the  Catholics 
were  in  the  midst  of  their  praises  of  the  Regent,  and  full  of  their 
hopes  from  him,  while  they  wera  calling  his  Royal  Highness  theii 
early  friend — their  best  and  proudest  hope— it  was  then,  even 
then,  in  the  full  tide  of  their  warm  affections  that  they  had  been 
met  by  a  state  "prosecution — that  they  were  handed  over  to  the 
Attorney- General,  and  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  and  to  Lord 
Manners,  that  their  delegates  were  arrested,  and  their  meeting*, 
dispersed  ! 

It  was  at  that  period  of  confidence  and  affection  that  the  com- 
mon police  justices  were  sent  to  arrest  the  noble  earl  at  their  head  ! 

The  resolutions  to  which  Mr.  Bagot  had  alluded  were  not  the 
causes  of  the  oj^position  to  us;  they  were,  on  the  contrary,  the 
consequences  of"  that  veiy  opposition.  They  followed  as  the 
effect  of  that  opposition ;  they  did  not  precede  nor  create  it.  It 
was  after  the  prosecution  against  us  had  commenced,  long  after, 
that  we  publicly  mourned  the  "  unworthy  witchery"  which  had. 
with  magic  touch,  blasted  our  fervent  hopes,  and  blighted  our 
fairest  projects! 

It  would,  seem,  too,  that  Mr.  Bagot  threatens  us  with  the 
alienation  of  the  mind  of  his  Royal  Highness  from  us  and  from 
oar  cause.  He  forgets  that  the  Prince  is  of  a  very  forgiving  dis- 
position. Before  he  attained  power,  his  royal  brother,  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland,  gave  him,  it  is  said,  no  great  cause  for  ardent 
affection.  They  were  supposed  to  be  upon  no  very  good  terms, 
yet  he  has  become,  and  most  deservedly,  a  prime  favourite,  so 
that,  although  that  royal  duke  is  valiantly  serving  his  country, 
and  putting  down  the  French,  one  is  surprise^  he  can  be  spared 
it  home !  (Cheers  and  laughter.) 


fcELLCT  fcPEECntES   OF 

Again  was  there  ever  so  decided  an  enemy  to  the  Prince  a* 
the  man  whom  he  selected  as  his  first  and  favourite  prime  mi- 
nister, the  god-like  Perceval?  What  is  it,  too,  that  has  attached 
him  to  Lord  Yarmouth?  But  1  need  not  press  the  subject. 
(:'an  it  be  otherwise  than  clear  that  his  Royal  Highness  is  not 
actuated  by  mere  low  and  selfish  motives.  He  has  neither  pre- 
dilection nor  resentments ! 

Mr.  Bagot  made  a  brief  reply,  chiefly  in  explanation,  and  the  Board  then  divided: — 
For  Mr.  O'Connell's  motion  (that  Lord  Fingal  should  be  written  to  respecting 
the  written  account  of  the  liegent's  declaration  to  him  in  favour  of  the 
Catholics)       -  -    96 

AguL^at  the  motion          --...___(; 

Miijority  in  favour  -  -  -  -  -  -    30 

Major  Bryan  then  moved,  pursuant  to  notice : — 

*4  That  the  Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of  Donoughmore  be  requested 
to  present  the  Catholic  petition,  which  had  been  some  time  since  handed, 
to  him,  forthwith,  to  the  House  of  Lords." 

Mr.  Hussey  suggested  some  preliminary  communication  with  his  lordship.  Some  diffi- 
culty might  arise  as  to  the  precisely  proper  course  of  preferring  the  application  to  the 
House  of  Lords. 

He  did  not,  however,  press  his  opposition, 

Mr.  O'Connell  said  that  the  motion  had  his  hearty  concur- 
rence, and  he  rose  merely  to  express  the  full  confidence  of  the 
Irish  people,  in  the  Earl  of  Donoughmore.  In  his  family,  the 
Catholics  had  found  their  first  and  their  best  advocates — ti.ei* 
eincerest  friends.  That  noble  earl  would  support  their  cause,  as 
the  cauje  of  a  great  people  ought  to  be  supported.  He  would 
rest  it  upon  the  basis  of  right  and  justice,  and  give  to  every  class 
of  Dissenters  the  benefit  of  the  principle  for  which  the  Catholics 
contended — the  principle  of  universal  liberty  of  conscience. 

Lord  Donoughmore  would  enter  into  no  compromises  unbe- 
coming so  great  a  principle.  He  would  not  seek  to  buy  over  one 
^nemy  by  bartering  for  his  vote  part  of  our  liberties ;  nor  would 
l.e  seek  to  purchase  another  enemy  by  discounting  with  him  part 
of  our  religion.  The  Catholics  could  confide  in  the  Earl  of 
Donoughmore ;  in  his  talents,  his  integrity,  his  manliness,  and 
his  devotion  to  his  country,  they  must  repose  unlimited  confi- 
dence. It  was  in  the  expression  of  that  confidence,  and  of  their 
{.irutitude.  that  they  might  fail;  because  .language  was  inadequate 
to  express  the  fulness  of  the  Irish  heart,  towards  that  friend  who 
had  never  been  even  mistaken  in  his  advocacy  of  their  cause. 

Jt  was  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  our  other  friends  did  not 
••niitate  that  noble  lord.  It  vsas  deeply  to  be  deplored  that  they 


DANIBL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.^J  189 

hud  so  widely  mistaken  the  proper  course.  No  man  could  be 
nosurd  enough  to  doubt  for  one  moment  the  sincerity  or  tha 
pure  patriotism  of  Grattan.  But  it  was  the  misfortune  of  Ire- 
land that  his  eye,  rolling  in  the  fine  frenzy  of  poetic  eloquence, 
was  so  filled  with  its  own  light  as  to  be  quite  insufficient  for  the 
minute  details  of  practical  drudgery.  No  man  admires  Mr. 
Grattan  more — few  admire  him  so  much  as  I  do ;  and  I  respect, 
with  bitter  sorrow,  the  errors  of  his  judgment — his  heart  was 
never  wrong. 

I  may  (said  Mr.  O'Connell,)  be  calumniated  for  speaking  the 
truth  to  you ;  but  I  owe  it  to  my  country  to  express — to  express 
with  great  respect  for  our  friends — to  express  my  entire  disap- 
probation of  the  manner  in  which  they  have  lately  conducted 
our  cause.  They  imagined,  perhaps,  that  they  showed  impar- 
tiality in  their  scorn  ot  our  assistance;  or,  perhaps,  they  still 
entertain — justly  perhaps — the  notion,  that  there  is  in  Protest- 
ant intellect  a  natural  and  moral  superiority  over  that  of  Papists, 
at  least  of  Irish  Papists,  which  cannot  be  surrendered! 

But  see  what  the  facts  are,  Mr*  Grattan,  I  understand,  took 
over  with  him  to  England  a  draft  of  a  bill  for  our  relief,  drawn 
in  Dublin,  last  winter,  by,  I  believe,  Mr.  Wallace,  Mr.  Burton, 
and  Mr.  Burroughs.  Not  a  single  Catholic — lay  or  ecclesiastical 
— merchant,  lawyer,  or  priest  was  consulted  upon  it.  Surely 
we  are  not  quite  so  dull  as  not  to  know  what  have  served  us  ; 
but  no — not  one  Catholic  was  consulted.  This  bill  arrived  in 
England,  but  there,  I  have  heard,  was  altogether  abandoned,  and 
a  new  bill  got  up  by  some  worthy  English  gentleman,  who  would, 
I  presume,  feel  something  like,  an  insult,  if  it  were  suggested  to 
him  that  we  could  assist  him.  Our  delegates  were  in  London 
they  were  never  consulted;  they  almost  obtruded  their  advice  ; 
they  were  received  with  courtesy,  but  all  confidence  was  withheld 
from  them.  Well,  this  bill  is  at  last  produced,  and  it  turns  out 
to  be  just  what  our  enemies  could  have  wished.  It  is  narrow 
and  limited  in  principle,  or  rather,  it  asserts  no  principle.  It  is 
slovenly  and  untechnical  in  its  language.  It  is  inoperative  as 
to  any  substantial  relief.  It  is  introduced,  to  be  sure,  with  all 
the  pride,  pomp,  and  circumstance  of  eloquence,  more  than  hu- 
man ;  but  the  very  person  who  introduced  it  was  only  the  first 
victim  to  it  delusion. 

There  never  lived  a  man  less  capable  of  practising  any  decep- 
tion than  Mr.  Grattan ;  but  the  very  generosity  and  nobleness 
of  his  mind  exposes  him  to  the  delusions  of  others.  In  the 
aaeantirne  an  attempt  is  made  to  stifle  the  sentiment  of  tho 


J90  8EJLEUT  SPEECHES  OP 

Board.  We  were  to  have  been  silence- i,  lest  we  should  dis- 
turb the  course  of  this  further  relief;  and,  in  the  interval,  a  se- 
cret agency  was  known  to  be  on  foot  in  many  quarters  amongst 
us.  They  thought  of  sharing  the  spoils  before  they  could  be 
certain  of  the  victory.  Silence  was  the  order  of  the  day:  and 
Mr.  Grattau  was  left  in  his  error,  because  some  amongst  us  con- 
ceived they  had  an  interest  in  carrying  any  bill.  I  have  even 
seen  a  letter  from  a  Whig  baronet  in  parliament,  in  which  ho 
suggested  the  Whiggish  idea  of  forming  a  party  in  the  Board  in 
favour  of  this  bill.  Part  of  that  letter  was  published  in  the 
newspapers ;  but  this  patriotic  idea  was  suppressed :  at  length, 
however,  our  dissatisfaction  began  to  appear ;  spite  of  every  re- 
straint, it  burst  forth ;  and  to  close  the  curious  history  of  this 
further  relief  bill,  the  Right  Hon.  Mr.  Plunkett  came  over  with 
the  assent  and  approbation  of  my  Lord  Viscount  Castlereagh,  to 
reconcile  all  parties  to  this  bill ! 

Strange  mission!  What!  to  reconcile  the  Catholics  to  a  hill 
for  their  relief!  What!  to  entreat  of  the  Catholics  to  be  eman- 
cipated? He  came  over  to  reconcile  everybody — he  reconciled 
nobody ;  and,  in  the  meantime,  this  bill  met  the  fate  it  deserved, 
and  all  Ireland  rejoiced  in  its  extinction. 

I  do,  therefore,  solemnly  protest  against  the  course  that  has 
been  adopted  upon  this  occasion.  Grattan,  the  patriot — Grattan 
needs  but  to  be  informed  of  your  wishes  to  comply  with  them. 
Surely  Canning,  though  a  powerful  framer  of  jests,  is  not  the 
Catholic  cause ;  nor  is  Castlereagh,  though  a  speeching  man,  the 
representative  of  the  Irish  sentiment.  Let  us,  of  all  things,  get 
rid  of  secret  negotiation:  our  friends  are  deceived,  constantly 
deceived,  by  private  information.  Let  us,  also,  take  care  to  dis- 
entangle our  cause  from  the  jobbing  of  the  English  Catholics; 
they  have  just  thought  fit  to  signalize  their  English  magnani- 
mity, by  sacrificing  to  their  enemies  the  first  of  their  bishops ; 
and  they  have  humanely  attempted  to  bring  the  gray  head  of 
that  venerable  prelate  in  sorrow  and  disgrace  to  his  grave.  They 
remind  one  of  a  band  of  negro  slaves,  who,  upon  the  promise  of 
a  half  holiday,  celebrate  their  joy,  by  crushing  with  their  chains 
some  unfortunate  fellow-slave  who  presumed  to  think  that  black 
was  as  good  as  white,  and  that  colour  waa  no  justification  of 
slavery ! 

Well,  be  it  so.  They  have  censured  the  agent  of  our  bishops  • 
but,  in  recompense,  they  have  thanked  Lord  Castlereagh  !  Did 
they  never  hear  that  the  Irish  people  were  scourged,  and  piek- 
etted,  and  tortured  1  Did  they  never  hear  that  the  lash  smacked, 


DA.MEL  0  CORNELL,  ESQ.,  M.r.  101 

>na  the  shriek  resounded,  and  the  cry  of  agi  ny  was  heard  and 
the  yell  of  the  tortured  rent  the  air,  and  thai  this  full  choru* 
was  music  to  the  ear  of  Lord  Castlereagh  !  Yes,  they  did  heai 
it  all ;  and  thereiore  it  was  that  these  English  thanked  my  Lord 
Castlereagh,  and  censured  their  prelate. 

This  is  a  subject  I  will  beg  leave  to  bring  again  beforo  the 
Board.  We  owe  it  to  Ireland  to  preclude  the  possiblity  of  any 
interference  of  any  English  Catholic  with  our  cause.  We  owe 
it  mainly  to  one  of  them  that  we  are  still  unemancipated.  Let 
me  be  pardoned  for  thus  trespassing  on  your  time.  I  need  not 
in  conclusion,  say,  that  the  motion  of  my  respected  friend  has 
my  entire  approbation. 

The  resolution  was  then  put  from  the  chair,  and  carried  unanimously 
Major  Bryan,  wishing  that  the  resolution  should  be  conveyed  to  Earl  Dononghmore  in 
the  most  respectful  manner  possible,  moved — 

"  That  the  chairman,  Sir  Thomas  Esmonde,  be  requested  to  trans- 
mit the  same." 

This  being  seconded  was  carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  O'Connell  gave  notice  of  a  motion  of  thanks  to  the  General  Assembly  of  tl.e  Ch  urch 
of  Scotland,  for  its  recognition,  at  its  late  meeting,  of  the  freedom  of  conscience. 

Mr.  O'Connell  gave  notice  of  a  motion  of  thanks  to  the  Eight  Rev.  Dr.  Milner,  and  the 
meeting  adjourned. 


RIGHT  REV.  DR.  MILNER. 

CPOX  the  15th  June,  1813,  an  aggregate  meeting  was  held  in  Fishamble-street  theatre 
The  Dublin  Evening  Post,  in  its  report  of  the  proceedings,  says  that,  when  Mr.  O'Connell, 
in  the  course  of  reading  the  resolutions,  adverted  to  the  revered  name  of  the  persecuted 
Dr.  Milner,  he  was  interrupted  by  the  loudest  acclamations  we  have  ever  heard.  All 
voices  were  raised  to  greet  this  favoured  name.  Clapping  of  hands,  beating  of  feet,  Ac., 
w  ere  continued  and  resumed  during  several  minutes,  and  at  three  successive  intervals. 
When,  afterwards,  he  came  to  move  the  distinct  resolution,  the  twelfth  in  order,  viz. : — 

"  Resolved — That  the  warm  approbation  and  gratitude  of  the  Catho- 
lics of  Ireland  be  conveyed  to  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Milner,  for  his  manly, 
upright,  and  conscientious  opposition,  in  conformity  with  the  Most  Rev. 
and  Right  Rev.  the  Catholic  Prelates  of  Ireland,  to  the  ecclesiastical 
regulations  contained  in  the  bill  lately  submitted  to  parliament,  and 
purporting  to  be  a  bill  for  the  further  relief  of  his  Majesty's  Roman 
Catholic  subjects," 

the  same  thunder  of  applause  was  repeated,  but  with  peals  of,  if  possible,  augmented  f»rc« 
and  renovated  energy. 

The  whole  assembly  rose,  as  if  with  one  impulse.  All  hats  were  taken  off,  and  each  sppc. 
tutor  waved  his  hat  with  the  loudest  demonstration*  of  pleasure.  The  ladies  came  for- 
•v«»id,  and  by  courtesies  signified  tludr  participation  in  m-  ^neral  feeling. 


192  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

In  short,  an  electric  sensntion  was  apparently  excited,  springing  from  the.  reverent  is1, 
•entiment  of  merited  respect  for  the  Irish  prelates,  and  for  their  insulted  brother,  1  he 
Eight  Rev.  Dr.  Milner. 

The  enthusiasm  subsided  very  slowly,  aud  had  not  wholly  disappeared  when  the  asaem 
My  broke  up.  .'  » 

When  Mr.  O'Comiell  was  allowed  to  proceed,  after  the  smfclhg  demonstration  of  feeling 
Qua  described  by  the  Evening  Post — a  description  strictly  according  to  the  fact — he  re.*' 
the  remaining  resolutions,  viz. : — 

'*  ResolvecU-That  we  feel  it  necessary  to  repeat  our  earnest  exhor- 
tation to  all  Catholic  freeholders  throughout  Ireland,  to  register  their 
freeholds,  and  steadily  to  resist  the  pretensions  of  any  candidates  for 
Jheir  votes,  who  shall  have  lent,  or  are  likely  to  lend,  their  support  to 
any  administration  founded  iu  intolerance,  and  hostile  to  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  religious  freedom : 

"  Resolved — That  the  expenses  unavoidably  attendant  upon  the  con- 
duct of  Catholic  petitions,  and  the  defence  of  the  invaded  rights  of 
petitioning,  call  for  the  liberal  aid  'of  our  fellow-countrymen  ;  and  we 
confide  in  the  public  spirit  and  zeal  of  the  Catholic  Sody  throughout 
Ireland,  for  ample  pecuniary  support  •" 

And  moved  that  the  entire  should  be  adopted. 

Having  t  ius  discharged  (said  he,  in  continuation,)  the  duty 
imposed  on  me  by  the  Board,  and  having  come  here  detennined 
to  address  this  meeting,  I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to 
solicit  your  patience  and  attention.  Let  me,  in  the  first  place, 
congratulate  you  on  the  progress  which  the  principle  of  religious 
liberty  has  made  since  you  last  met.  It  has  been  greatly  ad' 
vanced  by  a  magnificent  discovery  lately  made  by  the  English 
in  ethics  and  upon  which  I  also  beg  leave  to  congratulate  you. 
It  is  this — several  sagacious  Englishmen  have  discovered,  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  more  than  four  hundred  years  after  the 
propagation  of  science  was  facilitated  by  the  art  of  printing — 
several  sagacious  Englishmen  have  made  this  wonderful  discovery 
in  moral  philosophy,- that  a  man  is  not  necessarily  a  worse  citizen 
for  having  a  conscience,  and  that  a  conscientious  adherence  to  a 
Christian  religion  is  not  an  offence  deserving  of  degradation  or 
punishment.  (Hear.) 

The  operation,  however,  of  this  discovery  had  its  opponents  ; 
like  gravitation  and  the  cow-pock,  it  has  been  opposed,  and,  for 
the  present  opposed  with  success  ;  but  the  principle  has  not  been 
resisted.  Yes,  our  enemies  themselves  have  been  forced  to  con- 
cede our  right  to  emancipation.  Duigenan,  and  Nicholl,  ami 
Scott  are  laughed  at — not  listened  to  ;  the  principle  is  admitted 
— the  right  of  liberty  of  conscience  is  not  controverted — your 
emancipation  is  p^tam — it  is  now  only  a  question  of  terms — it 


P.IXTKL  O'CONNELL,   ESQ.,  M.l\  •          193 

jiily  remains  to  be  seen  whether  we  shall  be  emancipated  upon 
their  terms  or  upon  ours. 

They  offer  you  emancipation,  as  Catholics,  if  you  will  kindly 
consent,  in  return,  to  become  schismatics.  They  offer  you  liberty, 
as  men,  if  you  agree  to  become  slaves  after  a  new  fashion — that 
As,  your  friends  and  your  enemies  have  declared  that  you  are 
entitled  to  Catholic  emancipation  and  freedom,  upon  the  trifling 
terms  of  schism  and  servitude  ! 

Generous  enemies  !— bountiful  friends!  Yes,  in  their  bounty 
they  resemble  the  debtor  who  should  address  his  creditor  thus  : 
— "  It  is  true,  I  owe  you  £100  ;  I  am  perfectly  well  able  to  pay 
you ;  but  what  will  you  give  me  if  I  hand  you  6s.  8t/.  in  the 
pound  of  your  just  debt,  as  a  final  adjustment  ?"  (Hear,  hear.) 
"  Let  us  allay  all  jealousies,"  continues  the  debtor — "  let  us  put 
an  end  to  all  animosities — I  will  give  you  one- third  of  what  f 
owe  you,  if  you  will  give  me  forty  shillings  in  the  pound  of  addi- 
tional value,  and  a  receipt  in  full,  duly  stamped,  into  the  bar- 
gain." ( Laughter.) 

But  why  do  I  treat  this  serious  and  melancholy  subject  with 
levity]  AVhy  do  I  jest,  when  my  heart  is  sore  and  sad?  Be- 
cause I  have  not  patience  at  this  modern  cant  of  securities,  and 
vetoes,  and  arrangements,  and  clauses,  and  commissions.  Secu- 
rities against  what  ?  Not  against  the  irritation  and  dislike 
which  may  and  naturally  ought  to  result  from  prolonged  oppres- 
sion and  insult.  Securities — not  against  the  consequences  of 
dissensions,  distrusts,  and  animosities.  Securities — not  against 
foreign  adversaries.  The  securities  that  are  required  from  us 
are  against  the  effects  of  conciliation  and  kindness — against  the 
dangers  to  be  apprehended  from  domestic  union,  peace,  and  cor- 
diality. If  they  do  not  emancipate  us — if  they  leave  us  aliens 
and  outlaws  in  our  native  land — if  they  continue  our  degrada- 
tion, and  all  those  grievances  that,  at  present,  set  our  passions  at 
war  with  our  duty  ;  then,  they  have  no  pretext  for  asking,  nor 
do  they  require  any  securities ;  but,  should  they  raise  us  to  the 
rank  of  Irishmen — should  they  give  us  an  immediate  arid  per- 
sonal interest  in  our  native  land — should  they  share  with  us  the 
blessings  of  the  constitution — should  they  add  to  our  duty  the 
full  tide  of  our  interests  and  affection  ;  then — then,  say  they, 
securities  will  be  necessary.  Securities  and  guards  must  bo 
adopted.  State  bridles  must  be  invented,  and  shackles  and 
manacles  must  be  forged,  lest,  in  the  intoxication  of  new  liberty, 
\ro  should  destroy,  only  because  we  have  a  greater  interest  to 
preserve. 


19  i         .  SELECT  SPEECHES  0V 

And  do  they — do  these  security-men  deserre  to  be  reasoned 
with  1  I  readily  admit — I  readily  proclaim  Grattan's  purity — 
his  integrity — his  patriotism;  but,  in  his  eagerness  to  obtain  for 
us  that  liberty,  for  which  he  has  so  long  and  so  zealously  con- 
tended, he  has  overlooked  the  absurdity  which  those  men  fall 
into,  who  demand  securities  against  the  consequences  of  eman- 
cipation, whilst  they  look  for  no  securities  against  the  effects  o. 
injustice  and  contumely. 

Grattan  has  also  overlooked  the  insult  to  our  understandings 
and  to  our  moral  feelings  which  this  demand  for  securities  in- 
flicts. Grattan  is  mistaken  upon  this  topic  ;  but  he  is  the  only 
man  who  is  merely  mistaken.  The  cry  for  securities  has  been 
raised,  merely  to  retard  the  progress  of  emancipation.  Canning 
affects  to  be  our  friend,  because,  since  his  conduct  to  his  col- 
league, Viscount  Castlereagh,  he  has  found  it  difficult  to  obtain 
a  niche  in  any  administration.  God  preserve  us  from  the  friend- 
ship of  Mr.  Canning  !  I  have  no  apprehension  of  Mr.  Can- 
ning's enmity :  he  was  our  avowed  enemy ;  that  is,  he  always 
voted  against  us,  from  the  moment  he  got  pension  or  place  under 
Pitt,  to  the  time  when  he  was  dismissed  from  office,  and  rendered 
hopeless  of  regaining  it.  And,  as  to  Lord  Castlereagh,  rely  on 
it,  that,  though  he  may  consent  to  change  one  kind  of  degrada- 
tion for  another,  he  never  will  consent  to  your  attaining  your 
freedom  :  and  was  it  to  obtain  the  vote  of  Lord  Castlereagh  that 
Grattan  gave  up  our  honour  and  our  religion  ?  Does  Grattan 
forget — does  he  forgive  the  artificer  of  the  Union,  or  the  means 
by  which  it  was  achieved  1  Does  not  Grattan  know  that  Lord 
Castlereagh  first  dyed  his  country  in  blood,  and  then  sold  her. 

But,  I  repeat  it,  I  have  not  patience,  common  patience  with 
those  men  who  cry  out  for  securities,  and  will  not  see  that  they 
would  obtain  real  security  from  the  generous  concession  of  plain 
right — from  conciliation  and  kindness ;  all  reasoning,  all  expe- 
rience proves  that  justice  to  the  Catholics  ought  to  be,  and  has 
been,  in  the  moments  of  distress  and  peril,  the  first  and  best 
security  to  the  state.  I  will  not  stoop  to  argue  the  theory  with 
any  man.  I  will  not  condescend  to  enter  into  an  abstract  roa* 
soning  to  prove  that  safety  to  a  government  ought  to  result  from 
justice  and  kindness  to  the  people,  but  I  will  point  out  the  evi- 
dence of  facts  which  demonstrate,  that  concession  to  the  Irish 
Catholics  has  in  itself  been  resorted  to,  and  produced  security 
to  our  government — that  they  have  considered  and  found  it  to 
be  a  security  in  itself — a  safeguard  against  the  greatest  evils  and 
calamities,  and  not  a  cause  of  danger  or  apprehension. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P  19-3 

Ireland,  in  the  connection  with  England,  has  but  too  constantly 
shared  the  fate  of  the  prodigal's  dog — I  mean  no  personal  allu- 
sion— (a  laugh) — she  has-been  kicked  in  the  insolence  of  pro- 
sperity, and  she  has  borne  all  the  famine  and  distress  of  adver- 
sity. Ireland  has  done  more — she  has  afforded  an  abundant 
source  of  safety  and  security  to  England  in  the  midst  of  ever} 
adversity ;  and  at  the  hour  of  her  calamity.  England  has  had 
only  to  turn  to  Ireland  with  the  offer  of  friendship  and  cor- 
diality, and  she  has  been  rewarded  by  our  cordial  and  unremit- 
ting succour. 

Trace  the  history  of  the  penal  laws  in  their  leading  features, 
and  you  will  see  the  truth  of  my  assertion.  The  capitulation  of 
Limerick  was  signed  on  the  3rd  October,  1691.  Our  ancestors, 
by  that  treaty,  stipulated  for,  and  were  promised  the  perfect 
freedom  of  their  religion,  and  that  no  other  oath  should  be. im- 
posed on  Catholics,  save  the  oath  of  allegiance.  The  Irish  per- 
formed the  entire  of  that  treaty  on  their  part  :  it  remains  un- 
performed, as  it  certainly  is  of  force,  in  point  of  justice,  to  this 
hour,  on  the  part  of  the  English.  Even  in  the  reign  of  Wil- 
liam, it  was  violated  by  that  prince,  whose  generals  and  judges 
signed  that  treaty — by  that  prince  who  himself  confirmed  and 
enrolled  it. 

But  he  was  the  same  prince  that  signed  the  order  for  the  hor- 
rible, cold-blooded  assassination  and  massacre  of  the  unfortunate 
Macdonalds  of  Glencoe ;  and  if  his  violation  of  the  Limerick 
treaty  was  confined  to  some  of  the  articles,  it  was  only  because 
the  alteration  in  the  succession,  and  the  extreme  pressure  of  fo- 
reign affairs,  did  not  render  it  prudent  nor  convenient  to  offer 
further  injury  and  injustice  to  the  Irish  Catholics. 

But  the  case  was  altered  in  the  next  reign.  The  power  and 
the  glory,  which  England  acquired  by  her  achievements,  under 
Alarlborough — the  internal  strength,  arising  from  the  possession 
of  liberty,  enabled  her  to  treat  Ireland  at  her  caprice,  and  she 
accordingly  poured  the  full  vial  of  her  hatred  upon  the  unfortu- 
nate Catholics  of  Ireland.  England  was  strong  and  proud,  and, 
therefore,  unjust.  The  treaty  of  Limerick  was  trampled  under 
foot — justice,  and  humanity,  and  conscience  were  trodden  to  the 
earth,  and  a  code  of  laws  inflicted  on  the  Irish  Catholics,  which 
Montesquieu  has  well  said,  ought  to  have  been  written  in  blood, 
and  of  which  you  still  feel  the  emaciating  cruelty — a  code  ol 
laws  which  still  leaves  you  aliens  in  the  land  of  your  ancestors. 
Aliens ! — did  I  say  ?  Alas !  you  have  not  the  privileges  of  alien- 
age ;  for  the  alien  can  insist  upon  having  six  of  his  jury  of  hia 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


own  nation,  trbilst  you  may  have  twelve  Orangemen  on  vour* 
(Hear,  hear.) 

But  to  return  to  our  own  history.  The  reigns  of  the  First 
and  of  the  Second  George  passed  away;  England  continued 
strong  ;  she  persevered  in  oppression  and  injustice ;  she  wa% 
powerful  and  respected  ;  she,  therefore,  disregarded  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  Irish,  and  increased  their  chains.  The  Catholics  once 
had  the  presumption  to  draw  up  a  petition;  it  was  presented  to 
Primate  Boulter,  then  governing  Ireland.  He  not  only  rejected 
ir^  with  scorn  and  without  a  reply,  but  treated  the  insolence 
of  daring  to  complain  as  a  crime  arid  punished  it  as  an  offence, 
by  recommending  and  procuring  still  more  severe  laws  against 
the  Papists,  and  the  more  active  execution  of  the  former  sta< 
•jutes. 

But  a  new  era  advanced  ;  the  war  which  George  the  Second 
waged  on  account  of  Hanover  and  America,  exhausted  the  re- 
sources, and  lessened,  while  it  displayed,  the  strength  of  England. 
In  the  meantime  the  Duke  of  Bedford  was  Lord   Lieutenant  o. 
Ireland.     The  ascendancy  mob  of  Dublin,  headed  by  a  Lucas,  in- 
sulted the  Lord  Lieutenant  with  impunity,  and  threatened  tho 
parliament.     All  was  riot  and  confusion  within,  whilst  France 
had  prepared  an  army  and  a  fleet  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland. 
Serious  danger  menaced  England.     The  very  connection  between 
the  countries  was  in  danger.     The  Catholics  were,  for  the  first 
time,  thought  of  with  favour.     They  were  encouraged  to  address 
the  Lord  Lieutenant,  and,  for  the  first  time,  their  address  received 
the  courtesy  of  a  reply.     By  this  slight  civility  (the  more  wel- 
come for  its  novelty)  the  warm  hearts  and  ready  hands  of  the 
Irish  Catholics  were  purchased.     The  foreign  foe  was  deterred  • 
from  attempting  to  invade  a  country  where  he  could  no  longer 
nave  found  a  friend ;  the  domestic  insurgents  were  awed  into 
silence  ;  the  Catholics  and  the  government,  simply  by  their  com- 
bination, saved  the  state  from  its  perils  ;  and  thus  did  the  Ca- 
tholics, in  a  period  of  danger,  and  upon  the  very  first  application 
and  in  return  for  no  more  than  kind  words,  give,  what  we  waul 
to  give,  security  to  the  empire. 

From  the  year  1759,  to  the  American  war,  England  enjoyed 
strength  and  peace  ;  the  Catholics  were  forgotten,  or  recollected 
only  for  the  purposes  of  oppression.  England,  in  her  strength 
and  her  insolence,  oppressed  America;  she  persevered  in  juS 
obstinate  and  absurd  course  of  vexation,  until  America  revolted, 
flew  to  arms,  conquered,  and  established  her  independence  ami 
Jber  liberty. 


:' '  *         DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ. r  M.  P.  1  97 

This  brings  us  to  the  second  stage  of  modern  Catholic  history ; 
for  England,  having  been  worsted  in  more  than  one  battle  in 
America,  and  having  gained  victories  more  fatal  Mian  many  de- 
feats, America,  aided  by  France,  having  proclaimed  indepen- 
dence, the  English  period  for  liberality  and  justice  arrived,  for 
she  was  in  distress  and  difficulty.  Distracted  at  home — baffled 
and  despised  abroad,  she  was  compelled  to  look  to  Irish  resources, 
and  to  seek  for  security  in  Ireland;  accordingly,  in  the  yeai 
1778,  our  Emancipation  commenced;  the  Catholics  were  hired 
into  the  active  service  of  the  state  by  an  easy  gratuity  of  a  small 
share  of  their  rights  as  human  beings,  and  they  in  return  gave, 
what  we  now  desire  to  give,  security  to  the  empire. 

The  pressure  of  foreign  evils,  however,  returned  ;  Spain  and 
Holland  joined  with  France  and  America  ;  success  in  her  contest 
with  the  Colonies  became  daily  more  hopeless.  The  combined 
fleets  swept  the  ocean;  the  English  channel  saw  their  superiority ; 
the  English  fleet  abandoned  for  a  while  the  dominion  of  the  sea ; 
the  national  debt  terrified  and  impoverished  the  country ;  dis- 
tress and  difficulty  pressed  on  every  side,  and,  accordingly,  we 
arrived  at  the  second  stage  of  Catholic  Emancipation ;  for,  in 
1782,  at  such  a  period  as  I  have  described,  a  second  statute  was 
passed,  enlarging  the  privileges  of  the  Catholics,  and  producing, 
in  their  gratitude  and  zeal,  that  security  which  we  now  tender  to 
the  sinking  vessel  of  the  state. 

From  1782  to  1792,  was  a  period  of  tranquillity;  the  expenses 
of  the  government  were  diminished,  and  her  commerce- greatly 
increased.  The  loss  of  America,  instead  of  being  an  evil,  became, 
an  advantage  to  trade  as  well  as  to  liberty.  England  again  flou- 
rished, and  again  forgot  us. 

In  1792,  the  Catholics  urged  their  claims,  as  they  had  more 
than  once  done  before.  But  the  era  was  inauspicious  to  thern 
for  England  was  in  prosperity.  On  the  Continent,  the  confede 
ration  of  German  princes,  and  the  assemblage  of  the  French, 
princes,  with  their  royalist  followers,  the  treaty  of  Pilnitz,  and 
the  army  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  gave  hope  of  crushing  and  ex- 
tinguishing France  and  her  liberties  for  ever.  At  that  moment 
the  Catholic  petition  was  brought  before  parliament ;  it  was  not 
pven  suffered,  according  to  the  course  of  ordinary  courtesy,  to 
lie  on  the  table  ;  it  was  rejected  with  indignation  and  with  con- 
tempt. The  head  of  the  La  Touche  family,  which  has  since  prc 
.luced  so  many  first-rate  Irishmen,  then  retained  that  Huguenov. 
hatred  for  Catholics  which  h  still  cherished  by  Saurin,  the  At- 
r»rney-General  for  Ireland.  La  Touche  proposed  that  the  peti- 


\98  SELECT  SPEECHES  Of 

tion  should  be  rejected,  and  it  was  rejected  by  a  majority  of  20G 
to  only  13. 

Fortune,  however,  changed.  The  invasion  of  the  Prussians 
was  unsuccessful ;  the  French  people  worshipping  the  name,  as  :.v 
it  were  the  reality  of  liberty,  chased  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  from 
their  soil ;  the  King  of  Prussia,  in  the  Luttrel  style,  sold  the 
pass ;  the  German  princes  were  confounded,  and  the  French 
princes  scattered ;  Dumourier  gained  the  battle  of  Jamappe,  and 
conquered  the  Austrian  Netherlands ;  the  old  governments  of 
Europe  were  struck  with  consternation  and  dismay,  and  we  ar- 
rived at  the  fourth,  and  hitherto  the  last  stage  of  emancipa- 
tion; for,  after  those  events,  in  1793,  was  passed  that  act  which 
zave  us  many  valuable  political  rights — many  important  privi- 
leges. 

The  parliament — the  same  men,  who  in  1792,  would  not  suffer 
our  petition  to  lie  on  the  table — the  men,  who,  in  1792,  treated 
us  with  contempt,  in  the  short  space  of  a  few  months,  grantee? 
us  the  elective  franchise.  In  1792,  we  were  despised  aud  re- 
jected ;  in  1793,  we  were  flattered  and  favoured.  The  reason 
was  obvious  ;  in  tbo  year  1792,  England  was  safe  ;  in  1793  she 
wanted  security,  and  security  she  found  in  the  emancipation  of 
the  Catholics,  partial  though  it  was  and  limited.  The  spirit  of 
republican  phrensy  was  abroad ;  the  enthusiasm  for  liberty,  even 
to  madness,  pervaded  the  public  mind.  The  Presbyterians  and 
Dissenters  of  the  North  of  Ireland  were  strongly  infected  with 
diat  mania  ;  and  had  not  England  wisely  and  prudently  bought 
all  the  Catholic  nobility  and  gentry,  and  the  far  greater  part  of 
the  Catholic  people  out  of  the  market  of  republicanism,  that 
which  fortunately  was  but  a  rebellion,  would,  most  assuredly, 
have  been  revolution.  The  Presbyterians  and  Catholics  would 
have  united,  and,  after  wading  through  the  bloody  delirium  of  a 
sanguinary  revolution,  we  should  now,  in  all  likelihood,  have 
some  military  adventurer  seated  on  the  throne  of  bur  legitimate 
sovereign. 

But,  I  repeat  it,  England  judged  better ;  she  was  just  ant 
kind,  and  therefore  she  has  been  preserved.  She  sought  for  se 
s-urity  where  alone  it  could  be  found,  and  she  obtained  it. 

Thus,  in  1759,  England  wanted  security  against  the  turbiv 
lence  of  her  ascendancy  faction  in  Ireland,  and  against  the  fleet 
and  arms  of  France  ;  she  was  civil  and  courteous  to  the  Catho- 
lics, and  the  requisite  security  was  the  result. 

Thus  in  1778,  England  wanted  security  against  the  effects  of 
her  own  misconduct  and  misfortunes  in  America;  she  granted 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  192 

some  rights  of  property  to  the  Irish  Catholics, -and  the  wanted 
security  followed. 

Thus,  in  1782,  England  wanted  security  against  the  prodiga- 
lity and  profligacy  of  her  administration — against  the  combined 
navies  of  France,  Spain,  and  Holland ;  she  conceded  some  fur- 
ther advantages  to  the  Catholics,  and  she  became  safe  and  secure. 

Thus,  in  1795,  England  wanted  security  against  the  probable 
consequences  of  the  disasters  and  treachery  of  the  Prussians — 
the  defeat  of  the  Austrians,  and  especially  against  the  revolu- 
tionary epidemic  distemper  which  threatened  the  vitals  of  the 
constitution ;  she  conferred  on  the  Catholics  some  portion  of  po- 
litical freedom,  and  the  Catholics  have  recompensed  her,  by  af- 
fording her  subsequent  security. 

And  thus  has  Emancipation  been  in  all  its  stages  the  effect  of 
the  wants  of  England,  but  a>.  the  same  time,  her  resource  in  those 
wants.  In  her  weakness  and  decay,  Emancipation  has  given  her 
•  health  and  strength ;  it  •*&  always  hitherto  a  remedy,  and  not 
in  itself,  a  disease ;  it  v?»?~  in  short,  her  best  protection  and  se- 
curity. Away,  then,  wiih  those  idle,  those  absurd  demands  for 
control,  and  dominion  over  our  mode  of  faith. 

Let  Grattan  learn  the  sentiments  of  the  Irish  people ;  let  him 
Know  that  we  are  ready  to  give  the  security  of  our  properties 
and  our  lives  to  the  state;  but,  we  will  not,  we  cannot,  grant 
away  any  part  of  our  religion.  Before  the  Union,  rib  vetoes,  no 
arrangements,  no  inquisitions  over  our  prelates  were  required. 

If  our  Protestant  fellow-countrymen  did  not  ask  them,  why 
should  the  English  suppose  we  can  grant  them  to  their  stupid 
caprice?  But  we  are  ready  to  give  them  security;  we  are  ready 
to  secure*  them  from  foreign  foes,  and  against  the  possibility  of 
domestic  dissension. 

Yes,  the  hour  of  your  Emancipation  is  at  hand ;  you  will,  you 
jnust  be  Emancipated;  not  by  the  operation  of  any  force  or 
violence,  which  are  unnecessary,  and  would  be  illegal  on  your 
part,  but  by  the  repetition  of  your  constitutional  demands  by 
petition,  and  still  more  by  the  pressure  of  circumstances,  and 
the  great  progress  of  events.  Yes,  your  Emancipation  is  certain, 
because  England  wants  the  assistance  of  all  her  people.  The 
dream  of  delivering  the  Continent  from  the  dominion  of  Bona- 
parte has  vanished.  The  idle  romance  of  German  liberty — who 
ever  heard  of  German  liberty !  is  now  a  cheerless  vision.  The 
Allied  Russian  and  Prussian  armies  may,  perhaps,  escape,  but 
they  have  little  prospect  of  victory.  The  Americans  have 
avenged  our  outrages  oil  their  seamen,  by  quenching  the  meteor 


?00 


&KLECT  SPEECHES  o 


jlaze  of  the  British  naval  flag.  The  war  with  the  world — Eng- 
irtnd,  alone,  against  the  world,  is  in  progress.  We  shall  owe  f»> 
her  good  sense,  what  ought  to  be  conceded  by  her  generosity ; 
she  cannot  proceed  without  our  aid ;  she  knows  she  can  com- 
mand that  aid  if  she  will  but  be  just ;  she  can,  for  liberty,  to 
which  we  Are  of  right  entitled,  command  the  affections  and  the 
energies  of  the  bravest  and  the  finest  people  in  the  world ! 

Recollect,  too,  that  the  financial  distress  of  England  accumu- 
lates. She  owes,  including  the  Irish  debt,  near  a  million  of  mil- 
lions. Who  is  there  so  extravagant  as  to  suppose,  but  that 
there  must  arrive  a  period  at  which  it  will  become  impossible 
to  borrow  money,  or  to  pay  more  interest?  Our  Irish  debt  has 
already  exceeded,  by  nearly  two-thirds,  our  means?  We  spend 
sixteen  millions  annually,  and  we  collect,  in  revenue,  about  five 
millions.  Our  bank  puts  a  paltry  impression  on  three  penny- 
worth of  silver,  and  calls  it  tenpence.  In  short,  with  taxes  in- 
creasing, debts  accumulating,  revenue  diminishing,  trade  expir- 
ing, pa;«  T  currency  depreciating — who  is  so  very  blind  as  not 
to  perceive,  that  England  does,  and  must  require,  the  consolida- 
tion of  all  her  people  in  one  common  cause,  and  in  one  common 
interest? 

The  plain  path  to  safety — to  security— lies  before  her.  Let 
Irishmen  be  restored  to  their  inherent  rights,  and  she  may  laugh 
to  scorn  the  shock  of  every  tempest;  the  arrangements  which 
the  abolition  -of  the  national  debt  may  require  will  then  be  effec- 
tuated, without  convulsion  or  disturbance;  and  no  foreign  fof 
will  dare  to  pollute  the  land  of  freemen  and  of  brothers.  (Hear.) 

They  have,  however,  struck  out  another  resource  in  England ; 
they  have  resolved,  it  is  said,  to  resort  to  the  protection  of 
Or'ange  Lodges.  That  system  which  has  been  declared  by  judges 
from  the  bench  to  be  illegal  and  criminal,  and  found  by  the  ex- 
perience of  the  people  to  be  bigoted  and  bloody — the  Orange 
System,  which  has  marked  its  progress  in  blood,  in  murder,  and 
in  massacre — the  Orange  system,  which  has  desolated  Ireland, 
And  would  have  converted  her  into  a  solitude,  but  for  the  inter- 
posing hand  of  Corn  wallis — the  Orange  system  with  all  its  san- 
guinary horrors,  is,  they  say,  to  be  adopted  in  England ! 
^  Its  prominent  patrons,  we  are  told,  is  Lord  Kenyon  or  Lord 
Yarmouth;  the  first  an  insane  religionist  of  the  Welsh  Jumpei 
sect,  who,  bounding  in  the  air,  imagines  he  can  lay  hold  of  a 
limb  of  the  Deity,  like  Macbeth,  snatching  at  the  air-drawn 
dagger  of  his  fancy,!  He  would  be  simply  ridiculous,  but  for 
the  mischievous  malignity  of  his  holy  piety,  which  desires  to  uoiv 


DANIEL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  201 

vert  Papists  from  their  errors,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
daggers  of  steel.  Lord  Kenyon  may  enjoy  his  ample  sinecares 
as  he  pleases,  but  his  folly  should  not  goad  tc  madness  the  peo- 
ple of  Ireland. 

As  to  Lord  Yarmouth,  I  need  not,  indeed  I  could  not,  describe 
him ;  and  if  I  could,  I  would  not  disgust  myself  with  the  de-  ••• 
scription  ;  but  if  Lord  Kenyon  or  Lord  Yarmouth  have  organ- 
ized the  Orange  system,  I  boldly  proclaim  that  he  must  have 
been  bribed  by  the  common  enemy.  Bigotry  is  not  a  gratuitous 
propensity.  Giffard  gets  money  for  his  calumnies  and  imp  adence ; 
so  does  Duigenan.  The  English  Orange  patrons  must  be  bribed 
by  France ;  let  them  appeal  to  their  private  lives  to  i-epel  my 
accusation.  Can  that  man  repel  it,  whose  life  is  devoted  to  the 
accumulation  of  wealth  to  be  added  to  wealth,  already  eytosslve 
and  enormous? — who  never  was  suspected  of  principle  or  hon- 
our ?__ whose  finest  feelings  were  always  at  market  for  money  1 

who  was  ready  to  wed  disgrace  with  a  rich  dowry,  and  \voald 

have  espoused  infamy  with  a  large  portion  ?     If  such  a  T  -retch 
lives,  let  him  become  the  leader  of  the  Orange  banditti.     The 
,  patron  is  worthy  of  the  institution— the  institution  is  sufte'l  tc 
the  patron!  ,    .,  . 

You  know  full  well  that  I  do  not  exaggerate  the  horrors  waici 
the  Orange  system  has  produced,  and  must  produce,  if  revived 
from  authority,  in  this  country.  I  have,  in  some  of  tne  hireling 
prints  of  London,  read,  under  the  guise  of  opposing  the  adoption  of 
the  Orange  system,  the  most  unfounded  praises  of  the  conduct  of 
the  Irish  Orangemen.  They  were  called  loyal,  and  worthy,  aild 
constitutional.  Let  me  hold  them  up  in  their  true  light, 
first  authentic  fact  in  their-history  occurs  in  1795.  It  is  to  be 
found  in  the  address  of  Lord  Gosford,  to  a  meeting  of  the  nragis- 
trates  of  the  county  of  Armagh,  convened  by  his  lordship,  as 
governor  of  that  county,  on  the  28th  of  December,  1795.  Allow 
me  to  read  the  following  passage  from  that  address  : — 

"  Gentlemen— Having  requested  your  attendance  here  this  day,  it 
becomes  my  duty  to  state  the  grounds  upon  which  I  thought  it  advisable 
to  propose  this  meeting ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  submit  to  yoi.  r  consi- 
deration a  pi  m  which  occurs  to  me  as  most  likely  to  check  the  enormi- 
ties that  have  already  brought  disgrace  upon  this  country,  and  may  Boou 
reduce  it  into  deep  distress. 

"  It  is  no  secret  that  a  persecution,  accompanied  with  all  thb  circum- 
stances of  ferocious  cruelty,  which  have  in  ail  ages  distinguish f;l  that 
dreadful  calamity,  is  now  raging  in  this  country.  Neither  age  uor  sex, 
nor  even  acknowledged  innocence,  as  to  any  guilt  in  the  latejHstur- 
"s.  is  sufficient  to  excite  mercy,  much  less  to  afford  'protection 

o   . 


202  SELECT  SPEECHES  3* 

"  The  only  crime  which  the  wretched  objects  of  this  ruthless  perse- 
cution arc  charged  with,  is  a  crime,  indeed,  of  easy  proof;  it  is  simply 
a  profession  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  or  an  intimate  connection 
with  a  person  professing  this  faith.  A  lawless  banditti  have  constituted 
themselves  judges  of  this  new  species  of  delinquency,  and  the  sentence 
they  have  denounced  is  equally  concise  and  terrible.  It  is  nothing  less 
than  a  confiscation  of  all  property,  and  an  immediate  banishment.  It 
would  be  extremely  painful,  and  surely  unnecessary,  to  detail  the  hor- 
rors that  are  attendant  on  the  execution  of  so  rude  and  tremendous  a 
proscription — one  that  certainly  exceeds  in  the  comparative  number  of 
those  it  consigns  to  ruin  and  misery,  every  example  that  ancient  and 
modern  history  can  supply ;  for  where  have  we  heard,  or  in  what  story 
of  human  cruelties  have  we  read,  of  half  the  inhabitants  of  a  populous 
country  deprived,  at  one  blow,  of  the  means  as  well  as  the  fruits  of 
their  industry,  and  driven,  in  the  midst  of  an  inclement  season,  to  seek 
a  shelter  for  themselves,  and  their  helpless  families,  where  chance  may- 
guide  them  ° 

"  This  is  no  exaggerated  picture  of  the  horrid  scenes  that  are  now 
acting  in  this  country  " 

Here  is  the  first  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Orangemen.  They 
commenced  their  course  by  a  persecution  with  every  circum- 
stance of  ferocious  cruelty.  This  lawless  banditti,  as  Lord  Gos- 
ford  called  them,  showed  no  mercy  to  age,  nor  sex,  nor  acknow- 
ledged innocence.  And  this  is  not  the  testimony  of  a  man  favour- 
able to  tho  rights  of  those  persecuted  Catholics ;  he  avows  his 
intolerance  in  the  very  address  of  which  I  have  read  you  a  part ; 
and  thov.gh  shocked  at  these  Orange  enormities,  he  still  exults 
in  his  hostility  to  emancipation. 

After  this  damning  fact  from  the  early  history  of  the  Orange- 
men, who  can  think  with  patience  on  the  revival  of  extension  of 
this  murderous  association  ?  It  is  not,  it  ought  not,  it  cannot 
be  endured,  that  such  an  association  should  be  restored  to  its 
power  of  mischief  by  abandoned  and  unprincipled  courtiei-s. 
But  I  Have  got  in  my  possession  a  document  which  demonstrates 
the  vulgar  and  lowly  origin,  as  well  as  the  traitorous  and  profli- 
gate purpose  of  this  Orange  society.  It  has  been  repeatedly 
sworn  to  in  judicial  proceedings,  that  the  original  oath  of  an 
Orangeman  was  an  oath  to  exterminate  the  Catholics.  In  some 
years  after  the  society  was  formed,  men  of  a  higher  class  of 
society  became  members  of  it,  and,  being  too  well  educated  to 
endure  the  plain  declaration  to  exterminate,  they  changed  the 
form  of  the  oath  to  its  present  shape,  but  carefully  retained  all 
the  persecuting  spirit  of  the  Armagh  exterminators.  The  docu- 
ment I  allude  to,  was  printed  for  the  use  of  the  Orange  lodges ; 
it  was  never  intended  for  any  eye  but  that  of  the  initiated,  and 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL.  ESQ.,  M.P.  203 

I  owe  it  to  something  better  than  chance  that  I  got  a  copy  o 
it ;  it  was  printed  by  William  M'Kenzie,  printer  to  the  Grand 
Orange  Lodge,  in  1810,  and  is  entitled,  "Rides  and  Regulations 
for  the  use  of  all  Orange  Societies,  revised  and  corrected  by  a 
Committee  of  the  Grand  Orange  Lodge  of  Ireland,  and  adopted 
by  the  Grand  Orange  Lodge,  January  10th,  1810."  I  can  de- 
monstrate from  this  document  that  the  Orange  is  a  vulgar,  a 
profligate,  and  a  treasonable  association.  To  prove  it  treason 
able,  I  read  the  following,  which  is  given  as  the  first  of  theii 
secret  articles  : — "  That  we  will  bear  true  allegiance  to  his 
Majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  so  long  as  he  or  they  support 
the  Protestant  ascendancy.  (Hear,  hear.) 

The  meaning  is  obvious,  the  Orangeman  will  be  loyal  just  sc 
long  as  he  pleases.  The  traitor  puts  a  limit  to  his  allegiance, 
suited  to  what  he  shall  fancy  to  be  meant  by  the  words  "  Pro- 
testant ascendancy."  If  the  legislature  presumes  to  alter  the 
law  for  the  Irish  Catholics  as  it  did  for  the  Hanoverian  Catholics, 
then  is  the  Orangeman  clearly  discharged  from  his  allegiance, 
hiid  allowed,  at  the  first  convenient  opportunity,  to  raise  a  civil 
war;  and  this  is  what  is  called  a  loyal  association.  (Hear,  hear.) 
Oh  !  how  different  from  the  unconditional,  the  ample,  the  con- 
scientious oath  of  allegiance  of  the  Irish  Catholic.  I  pass  over 
the  second  secret  article,  as  it  contains  nothing  worthy  of  ob- 
servation ;  but  from  the  third  I  shall  at  once  demonstrate  what 
pitiful  and  vulgar  dogs  the  original  Orangemen  were.  Mark  the 
third  secret  article,  I 'pray  you — "  That  we  will  not  see  a  brother 
offended  for  sixpence  or  one  shilling,  (a  laugh,)  or  more  if  con- 
venient, (a  laugh,)  which  must  be  returned  next  meeting  if  pos- 
sible." (Much  laughter.)  Such  is  the  third  of  the  secret  Orange 
articles.  I  presume  even  Lord  Yarmouth  will  go  with  them 
the  full  length  of  their  liberality  of  sixpence  or  one  shilling,  but 
further  his  convenience  may  prevent  him. 

The  fourth  secret  article  is  quite  characteristic — "That  we 
must  not  give  the  first  assault  to  any  person  whatsoever,  THAT 
may  briny  a  brotJier  into  trouble.'"  (Laughter.)  You  perceive 
the  limitation.  They  are  entitled  to  give  the  first  assault  in  all 
cases,  but  that  in  which  it  may  not  be  quite  prudent  j  they  are 
restricted  from  commencing  their  career  of  aggression,  unless 
they  are,  I  presume,  ten  to  one — unless  they  are  armed  and  the 
Catholics  disarmed — unless  their  superiority  in  numbers  and 
preparation  is  marked  and  manifest.  See  the  natural  alliance 
of  cowardice  with  cruelty.  They  are  ready  to  assault  you,  when 
110  brother  of  theirs  can  be  injured  ;  but  if  there  be  da'nger  a 


204  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

injury  to  one  of  their  brotherhood,  they  are  bound  to  restrain, 
for  that  time,  their  hatred  of  the  Catholics,  and  to  allow  them 
to  pass  unattacked.  This  fourth  article  proves,  better  than  ,"\ 
volume,  the  aggressive  spirit  of  the  institution,  and  accounts  for 
many  a  riot,  and  many  a  recent  murder.  (Hear,  hear.)  The  fifth 
secret  article  exhibits  the  rule  of  Orangemen,  with  respect  to 
robbery.  "  5th.  We  are  not  to  carry  away  money,  goods,  or 
anything,  from  any  person  whatever,  except  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion, and  those  only  froi  i  an  enemy."  The  rule  allows  them  to 
commit  felony  to  this  extent — namely,  the  arms  and  ammunition 
of  any  Catholic,  or  enemy  ;  and  I  have  heard  of  a  Catholic  who 
was  disarmed  of  some  excellent  silver  spoons,  and  a  silver  cup, 
by  a  detachment  of  this  banditti.  Yes,  Lord  Gosford  was  right, 
when  he  called  them  a  lawless  banditti ;  for  here  is  such  a  regu- 
lation as  could  be  framed  only  for  those  whose  object  was  plun- 
der— whose  means  were  murder.  The  sixth  and  seventh  secret 
articles  relate  to  the  attendance  and  enrolling  of  members  ;  but 
the  eighth  is  of  great  importance — it  is  this  • — "  8th  secret  article 
— An  Orangeman  is  to  keep  a  brother's  secrets  as  his  own,  unless 
iii  case  of  murder,  treason,  and  perjury,  and  that  of  his  own  free 
will."  See  what  an  abundant  crop  of  crimes  the  Orangeman  is 
bound  to  conceal  for  his  brother  Orangeman.  Killing  a  Papist 
may,  in  his  eyes,  be  no  murder,  and  he  might  be  bound  to  con- 
ceal that ;  but  he  is  certainly  bound  to  conceal  all  cases  of  riot, 
maiming,  wounding,  stabbing,  theft,  robbing,  rape,  house-break- 
ing, house-burning,  and  every  other  human  villany,  save  mur- 
der, treason,  and  perjury.  These  are  the  good,  the  faithful,  the 
loyal  subjects.  They  may,  without  provocation  or  excuse,  attack 
and  assault — give  the  first  assault,  mind,  when  they  are  certain 
no  brother  can  be  brought  to  trouble.  They  may  feloniously 
and  burglariously  break  into  dwellings,  and  steal,  take,  and  carry 
away  whatever  they  will  please  to  call  arms  and  ammunition. 
And,  if  the  loyalty  of  a  brother  tempts  him  to  go  a  little  further, 
and  to  plunder  any  other  articles,  or  to  burn  the  house,  or  to 
violate  female  honour,  his  brother  spectators  of  his  crime  are 
bound  by  their  oaths  to  screen  it  for  ever  from  detection  and 
justice.  (Hear,  hear.)  I  know  some  men  of  better  minds  have 
been,  in  their  horror  of  revolutionary  fury,  seduced  into  these 
lodges,  or  have  unthinkingly  become  members  of  them  ;  but  the 
spirit,  .the  object,  and  the  consequences  of  this  murderous  and 
plundering  association,  are  not  the  less  manifest. 

I  do  not  calumniate  them;  for  I  prove  the  history  of  their 
foimdatron  and  origin  by  1  he  unimpeachable  testimony  of  Vis 


BAX1EL  0  CON  NELL,  ESQ.,  M  P.  -05 

tount  Gosford,  and  I  prove  their  principles  by  their  own  secret 
articles,  the  genuineness  of  which  no  Orangeman  can  or  will 
deny.  If  it  were  denied,  I  have  the  means  of  proving  it  beyo  nd 
a  doubt.  And  when  such  principles  are  avowed,  when  so  much 
is  acknowledged  and  printed,  oh,  it  requires  but  little  knowledge 
of  human  nature  to  ascertain  the  enormities  which  must  appear 
in  the  practice  of  those  who  have  confessed  so  much  of  the  cri- 
minal nature  of  their  principles.  There  is,  however,  one  conso- 
lation. It  is  to  be  found  in  their  ninth  secret  article — "  No 
Roman  Catholic  can  be  admitted  on  any  account."  I  thank 
them  for  it,  I  rejoice  at  it ;  no  Roman  Catholic  deserves  to  be 
admitted ;  no  Roman  Catholic  would  desire  to  belong  co  a  society 
permitting  aggression  and  violence,  when  safe  and  prudent,  per- 
mitting robbery  to  a  certain  extent,  and  authorising  treason 
upon  a  given  contingency.  (Hear,  hear.)  And  now  let  me  ask, 
what  safety,  what  security  can  the  minions  of  the  court  promise 
to  themselves  from  the  encouragement  of  this  association  ?  They 
do  want  security,  and  from  the  Catholics  they  can  readily  have 
it  ;  and  you,  my  friends,  may  want  security,  not  from  the  open 
attacks  of  the  Orangemen — for  against  those  the  law  and  your  own 
courage  will  protect  you  ;  but  of  their  secret  machinations  you 
ought  to  be  warned.  They  will  endeavour,  nay,  I  am  most  cre- 
dibly assured,  that  at  this  moment  their  secret  emissaries  ai*c 
endeavouring  to  seduce  you  into  acts  of  sedition  and  treasou, 
that  they  may  betray  and  destroy  you.  Recollect  what  hap- 
pened little  more  than  twelve  months  ago,  when  the  Board  de- 
tected and  exposed  a  similar  delusion  in  Dublin.  Recollect  the 
unpunished  conspiracy  which  was  discovered  at  Limerick  ;  un- 
punished and  unprosecuted  was  the  author.  Recollect  the 
Mayor's  Constable  of  Kilkenny,  and  he  is  still  in  office,  though 
he  administered  an  oath  of  secrecy,  and  gave  money  to  his  spy 
to  treat  the  country  people  to  liquor  and  seduce  them  to  treason. 
I  do  most  earnestly  conjure  you  to  be  on  your  guard,  no  matter 
in  what  shape  any  man  may  approach,  who  suggests  disloyalty 
to  vou — no  matter  of  what  religion  he  may  affect  to  be — T\O  mat- 
ter" what  compassion  he  may  express  for  your  sufferings,  what 
promises  he  may  make  ;  believe  me,  that  any  man  who  may  at- 
tempt to  seduce  you  into  any  secret  association  or  combination 
whatsoever,  that  suggests  to  you  any  violation  of  the  Liw  ^ /hat- 
soever,  that  dares  to  utter  in  your  presence  the  language  of  sedi- 
tion or  of  treason,  depend  upon  it — take  my  word  for  it.  and.  I 
im  your  sincere  friend — that  every  such  man  is  the  hired  emis- 
sary and  the  spy  of  your  Orange  enemies — that  his  real  object  m 


206  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

to  betray  you,  to  murder  you  under  the  forms  of  a  judicial  trial, 
and  to  ruin  your  country  for  your  guilt.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
you  continue  at  this  trying  moment  peaceful,  obedient  and  loyal ; 
if  you  avoid  every  secret  association,  and  every  incitement  to 
turbulence ;  if  you  persevere  in  your  obedience  to  the  laws,  and 
iu  fidelity  to  the  Crown  and  Constitution,  your  Emancipation  is 
certain,  and  not  distant,  and  your  country  will  be  restored  to 
you ;  your  natural  friends  and  protectors  will  seek  the  redress 
of  your  grievances  in  and  from  parliament,  and  Ireland  will  be 
again  free  and  happy.  If  you  suffer  yourself  to  be  seduced  by 
these  Orange  betrayers,  the  members  of  the  Board  will  not  be 
bound  to  resist  your  crimes  with  their  lives ;  you  will  bring  dis- 
^^race  and  ruin  on  our  cause  ;  you  will  destroy  yourself  and  your 
families,  and  perpetuate  the  degradation  and  disgrace  of  your 
native  land.  But  my  fears  are  vain.  I  know  your  good  sense  ; 
I  rely  on  your  fidelity;  you  will  continue  to  baffle  your  enemies ; 
you  will  continue  faithful  and  peaceable ;  and  thus  shall  you 
preserve  yourselves,  promote  your  cause,  and  give  security  to  the 
empire. 

This  speech  was  received  throughout,  and  greeted  at  its  conclusion,  with  warm  and  gene- 
ral applause. 

Mr.  O'Connell  again  rose  snortly  after,  and  said  that  there  was  a  matter  of  very  pressing 
importance,  respecting  which  he  had  to  move  a  resolution.    His  motion  would  have  refer 
once  to  the  important  business  of  the  subscriptions.    He  said— 

That  it  had  now  become  extremely  necessary  to  call  upon  the 
people  for  procuring  aid  to  counteract  the  effects  of  Orange  per- 
secution, and  to  meet  the  indispensable  expenses  attendant  on 
the  prosecution  of  the  Petitions. 

A  resolution  like  the  present  had  been  passed  on  a  former  o& 
casion  ;  but  means  had  not  been  taken  to  render  it  extensively 
useful.  The  Board  found  themselves,  in  the  month  of  October 
last,  indebted  in  a  sum  of  £3,000.  He  was  at  that  time  called 
to  the  management  of  its  financial  concerns,  and  was  happy  to 
say,  that  the  debt  he  mentioned  had  been  paid  off,  and  a  surplus 
remained  at  the  present  in  bank. 

It  was  the  object  of  the  Board  to  create  a  fund,  by  carrying 
into  effect  which  should  be  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  attain- 
ment of  justice  for  the  Catholic,  and  which  should  be  equal  to 
the  legal  protection  of  every  Catholic  peasant  in  the  land  from 
Orange  atrocities.  That  such  a  provision  had  been  necessary, 
recent  events,  (particularly  those  in  the  county  of  Monughar) 
clearly  prove ;  and  that  neither  legal  protection  nor  even  justice 
itself  could  be  obtained  free  of  expense  was  a  fact  well  known. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  207 

He  thought  it  but  justice,  however,  to  gentlemen  of  that  profes 
sion  to  which  he  had  the  honour  to  belong,  to  say,  that  Catholic 
advocates  were  no  expense  to  the  body.     (Loud  applause.) 

That  money  was  wanted  would  not  be  denied ;  and  he  knew 
the  Board  had  only  to  call  upon  the  people  and  be  supplied. 
The  Catholics  of  Ireland  were  always  found  willing  to  grant 
more  than  was  required  of  them;  and  would  be  particularly 
willing  when  they  knew  it  was  to  protect  their  honest  bre- 
thren in  remote  parts  of  the  country  from  the  persecutions  of 
Orangeism. 

He  would  recommend  a  general  subscription  throughout  every 
parish  in  Ireland ;  but  he  would  wish  every  man  to  subscribe 
only  what  he  would  not  miss  :  and  in  this  way,  without  bearing 
heavy  on  any  individual,  would  a  fund  be  collected,  sufficient  to 
obtain  the  objects  desired  upon  any  occasion  which  might  hap- 
pen unexpectedly  to  call  for  pecuniary  sacrifices. 

As  he  had  other  subjects  of  more  exciting  interest,  thoogii 
not  surpassing  that  he  was  now  alluding  to  in  practical  impor- 
tance, he  would  not  detain  bis  auditory  longer  upou  ^t  at  pre* 
sent,  but  content  himself  with  moving — 

"  Resolved — *  That  the  expenses  unavoidably  attendant  upon  the  oou- 
'hict  of  Catholic  petitions,  and  the  defence  of  the  invaded  rights  of  p<> 
titioning,  can  for  the  liberal  aid  of  our  fellow-countrymen. 

"  And  that  we  confide  in  the  public  spirit  and  zeal  of  the  Catholic 
body  throughout  Ireland  f : ':  ample  pecuniary  support." 

This  resolution  was  carried  with  the  greatest  unanimity 


DOCTOR  MILNER. 

Ifr.  O'Connell  rose  to  propose  the  resolution  of  which  he  had  given  notice,  respecting  Dr 
Miiucr 

He  said  there  certainly  had  been  some  difference  of  opinion 
with  regard  to  it  at  the  meeting  of  the  Board  ;  but  that,  from 
what  he  ha^  had  the  pleasure  of  observing  of  the  feelings  which 
pervaded  t  ^e  present  highly-respectable  and  imposing  meeting, 
he  did  not ,  and  he  could  not,  for  one  moment  entertain  the  idea 
that  any  such  difFerenoo  would  be  found  to  exist  here.  There 
had  been  in  the  Board  no  division  on  its  merits—  it  was  a  mere 
division  apon  form. 


208  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

That  venerable  prelate  had  been  expelled  by  the  paltry  club 
calling  itself  "  the  Catholic  Board  of  England  r  And  the  club 
had  perpetrated  this  upon  the  very  same  day  upon  which  they 
thanked  the  master  of  the  Flogging  and  Torturing  Club  in  Dublin 
— my  Lord  Castlereagh  ! 

This,  indeed,  was  not  an  inconsistency  which  surprised  him. 
Lord  Castlereagh's  treacheries  and  cruelties  towards  the  Irish 
people  would  never  make  him  less  beloved  by  the  English,  and 
that  the  accident  of  an  Englishman's  being  a  Catholic  would 
have  any  the  slightest  effect  in  inducing  him  to  care  more  for 
Ireland,  was  a  proposition  which  every  day's  experience  demon- 
strated to  be  utterly  false  and  absurd. 

Indeed,  what  better  illustration  could,  by  possibility,  be  given 
of  this,  than  was  supplied  by  the  fact,  that  this  venerable  agent 
of  the  Catholic  hierarchy  of  Ireland  was  made  the  sport  of  the 
vilest  caprice  and  the  most  spiteful  ill-nature  by  these  English 
Catholics,  as  they  call  themselves — for  what  crime  or  offence 
think  you  ?  Simply  for  proclaiming  that  to  be  schism  which 
the  Catholic  prelates  of  Ireland  have  unanimously  declared  to 
be  so  ! 

I  cannot  forget,  although  the  English  Catholics  would  seem  to 
have  done  so,  that  this  venerable  prelate  combined  the  classic 
elegance  of  the  scholar  with  the  profound  learning  of  the  anti- 
quarian and  che  divine  ;  that  he  was  one  of  the  first  who  treated 
on  polemics  without  forgetting  the  dictates  of  politeness  and  the 
practices  of  civility,  and  bore  himself  through  all  the  excitements 
of  religious  controversy  with  the  temper  and  manners  of  a 
gentleman. 

The  resolution  was  warmly  supported  by  Mr.  O'Gorman,  and  was  passed  amid  great 
cheering. 


THE  PRINCESS  OF  WALES. 

"PON  the  same  day.  Mr.  O'Connell  had  a  motion  for  an  addross  to  the  mnch-persecntcd 
frincess  of  Wales,  the  unhappy  wife  of  the  Regent 

•Mr.  O'Connell,  at  this  as  at  a  later  period  of  the  persecution   unto  death  which  this 
luuappy  woman  underwent,  took  an  active  part  amongst  her  df-fendera. 
On  this  occasion  the  following  was  the  tenor  of  his  speech  :— 

He  declared  he  had  never,  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  pro- 
ceeded to  address  a  Catholic,  or  any  other  public  assembly,  with 
a  deeper  or  more  firm,  conviction  in  his  mind — that  he  was  about 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P  209 

to  propose  a  measure  eminently  and  powerfully  recommended  by 
the  best  dictates  of  the  judgment,  and  the  noblest  feelings  of  the 
heart ! 

It  was  a  resolution  which,  he  was  convinced,  would  do  credit 
to  their  feelings,  not  only  as  Catholics  and  as  Irishmen,  but  as 
Christians  and  as  men.  It  would  procure  for  them  the  esteem 
of  the  friends  of  virtue,  and  obtain  a  triumph  over  the  enemies 
of  goodness. 

I  am  (continued  he),  I  confess,  most  deeply  anxious  for  the 
•success  of  my  present  motion,  as  I  should  be  grieved,  indeed,  to 
have  any  reason  to  think  so  poorly  of  my  countrymen,  as  to 
believe  that  they  could,  by  any  possibility,  be  capable  of  reject- 
ing it. 

I  think  I  can  satisfy  you  by  the  clearest  and  most  convincing 
arguments  of  the  propriety  of  adopting  it.  The  proposal  is  for 
an  address  to  her  Koyal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales. 

Load  cheering  followed— the  entire  meeting,  as  if  by  an  electrical  impulse,  rose— the 
ladies  waved  their  handkchiefg,  the  men  waved- their  hats,  and  three  distinct  shouts  o» 
applause  ensued.  We  have  never  witnessed  such  enthusiasm. 

Oh,  no,  (said  Mr.  O'Connell,)  I  will  not  argue  the  point  at  all ; 
I  will  not  enter  into  any  reasoning  on  the  subject :  indeed,  I 
will  not.  I  leave  it  to  your  hearts — to  your  Irish  hearts — to 
regulate  your  conduct.  (Loud  applause.) 

It  was,  my  countrymen,  a  foul  conspiracy;  subornation  of 
perjury,  the  meanest  and  most  abominable  of  crimes,  and  per- 
jury itself  at  all  times  foul  and  unnatural,  but  in  this,  most  foul 
and  most  unnatoral.  These  atrocities  were  levelled  against  a 
stranger,  friendless  and  alone,  in  a  land  of  strangers — against  a 
female,  at  a  distance  from  her  parents,  and  deprived  of  her  na- 
tural protector.  Good  God !  where  is  the  thing,  in  human  shape, 
that  can  r«ad  of  these  horrors  and  not  join  in  the  shout  of  exe- 
cration ! — that  can  behold  the  triumph  of  the  innocence  of  this 
illustrious  lady,  and  not  offer  the  feeble  tribute  of  applaw  3 ! 

Yet,  there  have  been  such  beings — there  are  such  monsters ! 
The  Giffards  of  the  Dublin  Corporation — and  there  are  many 
Giffards,  differing  in  degree,  but  combining  in  principle — the 
Giffards  of  the  Corporation' have  refused  to  say  that  perjury  is  a 
crime — that  persecuted  virtue  deserves  countenance  and  sup- 
port. They  have  refused  to  say  so,  because  they  do  not  think 
.perjury  a  cnme,  when  employed  against  an  enemy;  they  do  not 
deem  virtue  an  object  of  any  admiration;  money  is  their  god — 
to  that  they  are  devoted. 

1  said  I  would  not  enter  into  any  detail  or  leasoning  upon 


210  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

this  subject,  and  T  will  keep  my  promise;  but  allow  me  to  rfc- 
Timrk  upon  one  circumstance,  in  the  case  of  this  illustrious  lady. 
She  becomes  a  widowed  wife  soon  after  her  marriage,  but  by 
whose  default  1  I  do  not  stop  to  accuse  any  person ;  but  this  I 
must  say,  that  even  her  envenomed  and  unprincipled  enemies 
have  not  dared  to  attribute  to  her  any  blame  for  the  separation 
from  her  husband.  She  has  never  been  accused  of  any  fault  to 
cause  or  justify  that  separation,  and  she  stands,  perhaps,  the 
solitary  instance  in  domestic,  or,  indeed,  in  any  other  quarrel, 
where  one  party  was  confessedly  and  altogether  innocent. 

This,  I  own,  has  made  a  strong  impression  on  my  mind,  and 
I  cannot  help  thinking  that  there  must  have  been  great  purity 
and  great  delicacy  in  the  conduct  of  the  lady,  who  upon  such 
an  occasion  as  this,  escaped  with  her  honour  not  only  untouched 
by  any  wound,  but  unsullied  by  any  stain,  even  in  the  imagina- 
tion of  calumny  itself.  For  the  credit  of  her  sex — for  the  dig- 
nity of  human  nature,  I  rejoiced  that  she  so  escaped,  and  the 
less  wonder  at  the  subsequent  triumph  which  the  miraculous 
force  of  her  innocence  affordecj  her,  against  the  vilest  and  most 
artful  conspiracy  that  was  ever  formed  against  life  and  honour. 

I  cannot  avoid  also  taking  notice  of  the  absurd  pretext  which 
has  been  lately  set  up,  to  cover  the  real  delinquents  in  this  atro- 
cious conspiracy  against  her  Royal  Highness.  It  is  said  she  owes 
it  all  to  her  indiscreet  friendship  for  Lady  Douglas;  but  see 
how  the  fact  contradicts  that  assertion;  for,  in  1804,  the  year 
before  Lady  Dougiaa  gave  in  her  statement,  we  have  seen  that 
the  apothecaries  were  examined,  and  that  Lord  Moira — why— 
oh !  why,  is  poor  Ireland  doomed  to  blush  at  that  name,  too, — we 
have  seen  Lord  Moira  condescend  to  shrug  and  wink  at  the  ani- 
mated honesty  of  Esmeade :  that  scene  took  place  before  this 
miserable  Lady  Douglas  became  an  actor  in  the  conspiracy :  she 
therefore  cannot  be  considered  as  the  prime  mover  of  the  con- 
spiracy: you  must  go  further  back  to  reach  at  the  real  author. 

Permit  me  also  to  remark  upon  one  other  circumstance,  in  the 
case  of  this  injured  and  innocent  lady.  By  the  testimony  of 
her  servants,  it  now  appears  that  they  were  placed  about  her  in 
the  double  capacity  of  attendants  and  of  spies.  For  years  she  was 
surrounded  with  persons  employed  and  anxious  to  discover  in 
ner  some  fault  or  some  crime.  She  was  quite  unconscious  of 
being  surrounded  by  those  spies  ;  but  she  was  perfectly  safe 
under  the  protection  of  her  innocence.  She  has  not  been  ac- 
quitted for  the  want  of  evidence.  If  crime  existed,  the  witnesses 
>tood  rjady  to  note  it  down  ;  nay,  so  awxious  were  they  to  sup* 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  211 

I,  ^vidence  against  her,  that  we  find  them  torturing  trivial,  un- 
important circumstances  into  evidence  of  guilt,  and  directly  in- 
venting falsehoods,  to  give  a  colour  to  the  conspiracy.  She  is 
therefore  enanled  proudly  to  feel  that  she  owes  her  acquittal 
to  her  innocence  aione ;  had  she  been  guilty,  she  must  have  been 
convicted. 

I  close  these  few  observations  on  this  momentous  case,  by  en- 
tering my  solemn  protest  as  3  lawyer,  against  the  species  of  tri- 
bunal before  which  she  was  tried,  and  which,  unable,  though  clearly 
not  unwilling,  to  convict,  aared  to  censure  her  whom  they  had 
not  Iieard,  and  could  not  hear  IE  her  defence.  A  more  inquisi- 
torial or  unjust  proceeding  never  disgrace^  *be  dungeons  of  the 
Inquisitions.  It  is  "  as  false  as  hell."  Permit  me  to  quote  one 
of  her  judges — "  It  is  as  false  as  hell  to  pretend  that  this  tribunal 
was  warranted  or  justified  in  taking  cognizance  of  the  matter  a* 
all ;  it  was  a  tribunal  illegal  in  its  formation,  and  shamefully  dis- 
graceful in  its  result  !" 

I  repeat  it,  how  dare  they  to  inflict  the  punishment,  the  dread 
ful  punishment  of  censure  on  the  honour  of  a  woman  who  ha. 
not  been  heard  to  explain  or  to  defend  ?  (Hear,  hear.) 

There  is,  however,  another  view  of  this  subject  which  presses 
strongly  on  my  mind.     The  Orange  lodges  are  about  to  be  estab- 
lished  in  England.    By  this,  more  may  be  meant  than  meets  the 
hearing.     We  have  heard  that  some  Orange  lodges  in  this  coun 
try  had  taken  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Duke  of  York.     It  is 
about  four  years  since  three  soldiers  were  brought  up  froi  i  Bel- 
fast, charged,  as  the  newspapers  informed  us,  with  swearing  in 
Orangemen  to  join  the  Duke  of  York  against  the  Prince  of  Wales 
These  men  were  not  punished — they  were,  probably,  private^ 
reprimanded  for  their  indiscretion.     I  know  not,  nor  do  1  care 
if  they  have  been  subsequently  promoted  or  rewarded.     But  it 
presses  very  strongly  upon  my  mind,  that  we  are  not  the  sole 
objects  of  the  English  Orange  lodges.     The  Jlegent  is  far  from 
being  of  an  active  or  penetrating  disposition.     He,  of  course, 
would  never  consent  to  the  disinheriting  of  his  child.      Yet  how 
do  we  know,  but  that  in  the  secrecy  of  the  Orange  association,  somi 
plan  may  be  devised  and  matured  to  alttr  succession,  and  to  pre> 
vent  a  female  reign? 

Perhaps  it  is  for  this  that  Orangeism,  with  its  conditional  al 
legiance,  is  now  adopted.  If  it  be — if  there  be  any  plan  for  alter- 
ing the  succession  in  agitation,  there  is  no  harm  in  saying  that 
I  am  against  the  Duke,  and  for  the  Princess.  (Hear,  hear.x 

not  to  boast,  but  I  have  enough  of  property  to  make  mo 


215  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

independent ;  if  I  had  no  property,  I  have  a  profession, 
m  the  kindness  of  my  countrymen,  would  make  me  independent, 
even  if  I  had  no  property.  I  easily  yield  to  the  delicacy  which 
forbids  me  to  speak  of  matters  of  a  domestic  nature,  but  I  may 
be  permitted  to  say,  that  I  have  those  domestic  charities  about 
me,  which  make  the  cup  of  life  sweet.  Oh,  sweet,  indeed !  But 
1  am  ready  to  sacrifice  property,  and  profession,  and  existence, 
in  the  cause  of  the  legitimate  successor  to  the  throne  ;  and  if 
they  shall  attempt  to  alter  the  succession,  I  will  fight  against  the 
traitors,  and  for  the  young  Princess,  at  your  head,  or  by  your 
side.  (Loud  cheers.) 

Let  not  these  traitors  be  enabled  hereafter  to  revive  these  ca- 
lumnies against  her  mother ;  let  them,  at  least,  be  met  in  any 
such  attempts,  by  the  verdict  of  acquittal  pronounced  by  Catho- 
lic Ireland,  and  recorded  in  this  your  address.  The  fashion  of 
rutting  the  throats  of  wives  is  gone  by.  Henry  the  Eighth,  the 
English  apostle  of  the  Reformation,  had  a  speedy  method  of  get- 
ting rid  of  a  disagreeable  wife.  He  it  was  that  first  discovered 
the  errors  of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  the  fair  face  of  a  young  lady. 
In  the  present  day,  it  is  said,  that  the  crimes  of  the  Catholics 
have  been  detected  in  the  bloated  visage  of  an  ancient  matron. 
This  taste  of  Henry  was  more  correct,  but  not  more  laudable. 
The  attempt  to  destroy  female  honour,  wherever  it  originated,  is, 
however,  as  foul,  nay,  perhaps,  more  foul,  than  to  take  away  the 
female  fife.  The  Irish  were  disgusted  by  the  first  experiment  \ 
they  cannot  refrain  from  horror  at  the  second ;  nor  can  any  pal- 
try consideration  of  personal  interest  restrain  them  from  express- 
ing that  abhorrence. 

Our  first  interest  is  to  be  honest,  just,  and  manly.  Our  first 
duty  is  to  discountenance  and  condemn  the  perjurers  and  theii 
employers.  Our  proudest  and  best  feelings  are  to  exalt  and  praise 
persecuted  innocence.  (Loud  bursts  of  applause.)  We  cannot 
command  success  for  ourselves  ;  we  cannot  coax  the  Prince  Re- 
gent, nor  bribe  the  parliament ;  but  it  is  in  our  power  to  deserve 
to  be  successful ;  to  show  that  we  are  men— that  we  are  Irishmen, 
to  whom  nothing  is  alien  which  partakes  of  justice,  dignity,  and 
generosity.  (Cheers.) 

Yes,  let  this  address  injure  our  cause,  yet  I  would  recommend 
•t  to  your  adoption  upon  that  account;  because,  thus  you  would 
aave  some  sacrifice  to  offer  upon  the  altar  of  justice  and  of  per- 
secuted innocence.  (Loud  and  repeated  applause.) 

1  do  therefore,  move  that  the  following  address  be  adopted : — 


DANIEL  OCONNRLL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  213 

"  Tie  Address  of  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland,  to  her  Royal  High- 
ness the  Princess  of  Wales,  on  her  escape  from  the  Conspiracy 

u  MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  ROYAL  HlGHNESS. 

"  We,  the  Roman  Catholic  people  of  Ireland,  beg  leave  to  offer  our 
unfeigned  congratulations  on  your  providential  escape  from  the  conspi- 
racy which  so  lately  endangered  both  your  life  and  honour — a  conspiracy, 
unmanly  in  its  motives,  unnatural  in  its  objects,  and  unworthy  in  its 
means — a  conspiracy,  combining  so  monstrous  an  union  of  turpitude 
and  treason,  that  it  is  difficult  to  say,  whether  royalty  would  have  suf- 
fered more  from  its  success,  than  human  nature  has  from  its  conception. 

"  Our  allegiance  is  not  less  shocked  at  the  infernal  spirit  which  would 
sully  the  diadem,  by  breathing  on  its  most  precious  ornament  the  vir- 
tue of  its  wearer,  than  our  best  feelings  are  wounded  at  the  inhospi- 
table baseness  which  would  betray  the  innocence  of  a  female  in  a  laml 
of  strangers ! ! 

"  Deem  it  not  disrespectful,  illustrious  lady,  that,  from  a  people  pro- 
verbially ardent  in  the  cause  of  the  defenceless,  the  shout  of  virtuous 
congratulation  should  receive  a  feeble  echo.  Our  harp  has  been  long 
unused  to  tones  of  gladness,  and  our  hills  but  faintly  answer  the  unusual 
accent.  Your  heart,  however,  can  appreciate  the  silence  inflicted  by 
SUFFERING  ;  and  ours,  alas !  feel,  but  too  acutely,  that  the  commisera- 
tion is  sincere  which  flows  from  SYMPATHY. 

"  Let  us  hope  that,  when  congratulating  virtue  in  your  royal  person, 
on  her  signal  triumph  over  the  perjured,  the  profligate,  and  the  corrupt, 
we  may  also  rejoice  in  the  completion  of  its  consequences.  Let  us  hope, 
that  the  society  of  your  only  c/rild  again  solaces  your  dignified  retire- 
ment ;  and  that,  to  the  misfortune  of  being  a  widowed  wife,  is  not  added 
the  pang  of  being  a  childless  mother. 

"  But  if,  madam,  our  hopes  are  not  fulfilled — if,  indeed,  the  cry  of  an 
indignant  and  unanimous  people  is  disregarded,  console  yourself  with  the 
reflection  that,  though  your  EXILED  DAUGHTER  may  not  hear  the  pre- 
cepts of  VIRTUE  from  your  lips,  she  may,  at  least,  study  the  practice  of 
it  in  your  example."  (Cheers.) 

The  following  resolutions  were  then  passed  unanimously : — 

"  Resolved — That  the  address  to  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess 
of  Wales,  now  read,  be  adopted,  and  that  the  individuals  composing  the 
general  board  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  be  requested  to  procure  sig- 
natures thereto.  9 

"  Resolved — That  the  Catholic  delegates,  now  in  London,  be  re- 
quested  to  present  the  said  address,  in  the  most  respectful  manner,  Co 
her  Eoval  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales." 


21-1  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

REPEAL  OF  THE  UNION. 

AT  tne  meeting  of  the  29th  of  June,  in  this  j  ear,  Mr.  O'Connell  spoke  *s  follows  :— 

I  return  you  the  thanks  of  my  heart  for  the  kindness  with 
which  you  have  this  day  received  me.  I  am  proud  of  the  kind- 
ness of  my  fellow-countrymen.  It  is  the  only  reward  I  would 
accept,  as  it  is  the  only  one  I  seek ;  but  it  is  a  rich  recompense ! 
It  consoles  and  compensates  me  for  the  slanders  and  malignity 
of  those  who  are  my  enemies,  only  because  they  are  your  oppres- 
sors! 

Nay,  in  their  enmity,  too,  I  feel  comfort  and  delight.  I  re- 
joice to  have  earned  their  hostility;  and  I  shall  deem  lightly  rf 
myself — most  lightly,  if  the  hour  shall  ever  arrive,  when  tne 
men  who  enrich  themselves  and  fatten  themselves  by  the  degra- 
dation and  enslavement  of  Ireland,  shall  treat  me  with  favour, 
or  even  with  neutrality. 

I  complain  not  of  their  calumnies ;  I  exult  in  them.  I  have 
lashed  the  bigot  and  the  tyrant ;  I  have  exposed  the  infamy  of 
those  hypocritical  pretenders  to  sanctity,  who,  in  the  name  of 
GOD,  plunder  and  oppress  unhappy  Ireland ! — the  men  who  dis- 
count their  consciences  and  obtain  money  by  their  pretensions  to 
piety— ^en,  whom  I  need  not  name,  because  you  know  them 
at  once  by  description. 

These  men  calumniate  me,  when  it  is  quite  safe  so  to  do,  in 
my  absence.  I  exult  in  deserving  their  hatred;  I  rejoice  at  their 
exertions,  which  only  prove  that  I  have,  in  some  measure,  re- 
venged my  country  upon  them.  I  court  their  bitterest  hostility; 
all  I  deprecate  is,  their  forbearance  or  their  favour. 

Your  enemies  say — and  let  them  say  it — that  I  wish  for  a  se- 
paration between  England  and  Ireland.  The  charge  is  false;  it 
is,  to  use  a  modern  quotation,  as  "  false  as  hell !"  And  the  men 
who  originated,  and  those  who  seek  to  inculcate  it,  know  it  to 
be  a  falsehood.  There  lives  not  a  man  less  desirous  of  a  separa- 
tion between  the  two  countries — there  lives  not  a  man  more 
deeply  convinced,  that  the  connection  befweeu  them,  established 
upon  the  basis  of  one  king  and  separate  parliaments,  would  be 
of  the  utmost  value  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  both  coun- 
tries, and  to  the  liberties  of  the  civilized  world. 

Next,  your  enemies  accuse  me  of  a  desire  for  the^ndependeuce 
of  Ireland.  I  admit  the  charge,  and  let  them  make  the  most  of 
it.  1  have  seen  Ireland  a  kingdom ;  I  reproach  myself  with  hav- 
ing lived  to  behold  her  a  province  1  Yes,  I  confess  it — I  wiV 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL.  ESQ.,  51.?.  *Jl/> 

ever  be  candid  upon  the  subject — T  have  an  ulterior  objer-t — 
THE  REPEAL  OP  THE  UNION,  and  THE  RESTORATION  TO  OLD  IRE- 
LAND OF  HER  INDEPENDENCE.  (Loud  and  repeated  cheering,  and 
acclamations  for  several  minutes.) 

I  am  told  that  it  is  indiscreet  to  avow  this  intention.  It  may 
be  so;  but  in  public  affairs,  discretion  may  easily  pass  into  dis- 
simulation, and  I  will  not  be  guilty  of  it.  And  if  to  repeal  the 
Union  be  'he  first  service  that  can  be  rendered  to  Ireland,  as  it 
clearly  is,  I  for  one,  most  readily  and  hea»  dly  offer  to  postpone 
our  Emancipation,  in  order  to  promote  the  cause  of  our  coun 
try.  (Loud  cheering.) 

But  lei-  me  not  be  mistaken.  It  is  true,  as  I  declare,  that  1 
desire  tht-  restoration  of  our  Irish  parliament ;  I  would  sacrifice 
my  existence  to  restore  to  Ireland  her  independent  legislature ; 
but  I  do  ?i02  desire  to  restore  precisely  such  a  parliament  as  she 
had  before.  No :  the  act  of  restoration  necessarily  implies  a  re- 
formation, which  would  for  ever  abolish  the  ridiculous,  but  most 
criminal  traffic  in  the  representative  privileges.  The  new  Irish 
legislature  would,  of  course,  be  purged  of  all  the  close  boroughs. 
The  right  to  nominate  to  parliament  should  no  longer  be  a  mat- 
ter of  traffic,  or  of  family  arrangement ;  it  should  not  be,  as  it  is 
at  present,  private  Droperty ;  so  much  so,  that  I  could  name  to 
you  a  borough  in  which  a  seat  in  parliament  is  vested  by  regular 
marriage  settlement.  I  could  tell  you  the  date  and  number  of 
the  registry,  in  which  a  judge  of  the  land  and  a  country  gentle- 
man, are  trustees  to  raise  money  upon  it,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
younger  children  of  a  baronet ;  this  traffic — this  most  odious  and 
disgusting  traffic,  should  be  abolished  at  once  and  for  ever,  were 
our  parliament  restored  to  us.  (Cheers.) 

Desiring  as  I  do  the  Repeal  of  the  Union,  I  rejoice  to  see  how 
our  enemies  promote  that  great  object.  Yes,  they  promote  its 
inevitable  success  by  their  very  hostility  to  Ireland ;  they  delay 
the  liberties  of  the  Catholic,  but  they  compensate  us  most  amply, 
because  they  advance  the  restoration  of  Ireland;  by  leaving  one 
cause  of  agitation,  they  have  created  and  they  will  embody  and  give 
shape  and  form  to  a  public  mind  and  a  public  spirit. 

Ireland  lay  in  torpor  till  roused  by  the  call  for  religious  liberty. 
She  would,  I  fear  and  I  am  convinced,  have  relapsed  into  apathy 
if  liberty  of  conscience  had  been  speedily  conceded.  Let  them 
delay  Emancipation  but  yet  a  little  while,  and  they  will  find  that 
they  have  roused  the  sleeping  lion  of  Ireland  to  awaking  activity 
which  will  not  permit  our  further  slumber  till  Ireland  is  heis^lf 
again.  (Loud  applause.)  They  may  still,  perchance,  think  of  ad- 


216  SELECT  SPEECHES  O? 

ministering  the  narcotic  of  religious  freedom,  Khich  may  tend 
tore-establish  political  lethargy;  but  only  let  them  allow  our 
discussions  to  continue,  let  them  suffer  our  agitators  to  pro  -?H 
let  the  love  of  country  and  even  the  desire  of  notoriety  b?  per- 
mitted to  excite  fresh  agitators,  and,  above  all,  let  the  popular 
mind  become  accustomed  to  the  consideration  of  public  subjects 
and  to  the  vehemence  of  political  contest,  and  they  know  n  jthing 
of  human  nature  who  imagine  that  they  can,  with  a  breath,  still 
the  tempest  that  they  shall  have  thus  excited,  or  be  abU  to  quiet 
a  people  whom  they  shall  have  roused  to  a  sense  of  their  wmngs, 
and  to  a  knowledge  of  their  own  strength  and  importance  ! 

I  repeat  it  1  The  delay  of  Emancipation  I  hear  with  pleasure, 
because  in  that  delay  is  included  the  only  prospect  of  oltaininj  my 
great,  mi/  ultimate"  object — tJie  Legislative  Independeiice  of  mi 
riatiue  tand  ! 

I  have  wandered  from  my  subject;  but  I  have  not  forsaken 
vour  cause.  The  very  calumnies  of  your  enemies  and  Laine  lead 
us  to  the  discussion  of  topics  which  it  is  for  their  own  inter  -st  to 
bury,  if  they  can,  in  eternal  oblivion !  The  manner  in  which  I  shall 
refute  their  calumnies  is,  by  endeavouring  to  serve  you.  I  can- 
not do  that  better  than  by  tendering  to  you  my  humble,  but  my 
honest  advice.  The  present  period  peculiarly  calls  for  that  ad- 
vice. Emissaries  are  abroad,  agents  have  been  employed,  abun- 
dance of  money  and  great  encouragements  are  held  out  to  <hose 
who  may  seduce  you  from  your  allegiance.  Your  enemies  can- 
not put  you  down,  unless  you  yourselves  lend  them  assistance. 
Your  cause  must  triumph,  unless  you  yourselves  crush  it.  You 
have  the  fate  of  Ireland  in  your  hands — upon  you,  and  upon  you 
alone  does  it  depend.  Alas  !  for  poor  Ireland  !  Her  liberties 
depend  upon  the  prudence  of  a  people  of  the  most  inflammable 
passions,  goaded  almost  to  madness  on  the  one  hand  by  Orar.se 
insults  and  oppressions,  and  exposed  at  the  same  time  to  the 
secret  seductions  of  the  agents  and  emissaries  of  those  very 
Orange  oppressors ! 

Do  you  wish  to  gratify  the  Orangemen  ?  If  you  do  the  way 
;s  before  you.  You  have  only  to  enter  into  some  illegal  or  trai- 
torous association  ;  you  have  only  to  break  out  into  turbulence 
or  violence,  and  the  Orangemen  will  be  delighted,  becai.se  it 
will  afford  them  the  wished-for  opportunity  of  rioting  in  your 
b.oori ! 

Do  you  desire  to  afflict  and  disgust  your  friends  7  If  you  dr. 
tho  way  is  open  to  you.  You  need  only  form  illegal  or  sedition! 
$oc.etie8.  You  have  only  to  x>ininit  some  outrages  ajr.iiust  thf 


UANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.  217 

public  peace,  and  against  your  sworn  allegiance,  and  your  friendi 
must  abandon  your  cause  with  contempt  and  abhorrence. 

In  short,  your  enemies  are  on  the  alert.  They  throw  out  the 
language  of  irritation,  and  they  adopt  every  measure  of  oppres- 
sion to  goad  you  to  a  violation  of  the  law — to  a  departure  from 
your  loyalty  and  peaceable  demeanou;  I*  -i  it  does  not  rest 
there.  They  send  round  their  agents  witu  money,  and  with  par- 
don for  themselves,  to  preach  in  private  circles  the  doctrine  of 
insurrection — to  form  secret  knots  and  associations — to  seduce 
you  into  crime  and  then  betray  you.  These  miscreants  endea- 
vour to  obtain  your  confidence,  that  they  may  sell  your  lives 
in  the  meantime,  the 'Orangemen  stand  to  their  arms,  ready  pre- 
pared, primed,  and  loaded  ;  they  stand  with  the  triangle  and  the 
gibbet,  to  torture,  to  plunder,  and  to  massacre  ! 

Alas  !  alas  !  my  countrymen,  see  you  not  the  fatal  snare  ?  l)o 
you  not  comprehend  the  cruel  purposes  of  your  betrayers?  Yes! 
jay  countrymen  were  never  deficient  in  intellect — they  never 
v.  anted  ready  comprehension.  They  do,  and  they  must  perceive 
that  if  a  single  parish — if  a  single  village — nay,  if  a  single  indi- 
vidual, exhibits  the  symptoms  of  political  crime — if  a  single  wish, 
inconsistent  with  loyalty,  allegiance,  peace,  be  expressed,  our 
enemies  will  have  an  excuse,  and  a  justification  for  their  crimes 
and  oppressions  !  The  Habeas  Corpus  Act  will  again  be  sus- 
pended— the  reign  of  torture  and  of  terror  will  again  be  renewed, 
and  the  cause  of  Ireland  will  be  lost,  and  lost  for  ever. 

I  am  deeply  anxious  to  impress  upon  those  "«Tho  hear  ine,  or 
may  chance  to  read  a  report  of  what  I  utter — I  am  most  deeply 
anxious  to  impress  upon  the  minds  and  understandings  of  every 
*rue  Irishman,  that  disloyalty  to  his  sovereign  would  be  double 
treason  to  his  country ;  it  would  be  perjury,  aggravated  by  folly, 
and  followed  by  the  eternal  extinction  of  the  liberties  of  Ireland. 
Aud  what  prospect  could  there  possibly  be  of  aught  besides  de- 
struction 1  You  would  have  no  friends — no  supporters.  We, 
who  now  join  you  in  bearing  down  upon  our  oppressors — we,  who 
expose  the  hypocrites  that  cover  then-  bigotry  in  the  stolen  gar- 
ments of  religion — we,  who  are  ready  to  run  every  danger,  to  sus- 
tain every  calumny,  and  every  loss  and  personal  inconvenience 
iii  your  cause,  so  long  as  you  conduct  that  cause  within  th« 
limits  of  the  constitution — we,  in  whom  you  confide,  would,  and 
must,  be  found,  if  you  violate  the  law,  in  the  ranks  of  your  ene- 
Uiies,  and  in  arms  1 

For  myself,  I  will  tell  you  honestly,  that  if  ever  that  fatal  daj 
arrive,  you  will  find  ine  arrayed  against  you.  There  will  not  b* 


318  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

so  heavy  a  heart ;  but  there  will  not  be  a  more  ready  hand  to 
sustain  the  constitution  against  eveiy  enemy  ! 

Think  you  that  I  should  thus  consume  your  patience  in  re- 
peating my  cautions,  did  I  not  know  that  at  this  moment  no 
means  are  left  untried  to  seduce  the  population  of  this  country? 
Oiv  enemies  have  long  duped  the  people  of  England — indeed, 
that  was  not  difficult ;  so  dishonest  and  besotted  a  people  as  the 
Kiiglish  never  lived.  (Loud  cheers.)  Yes  ;  they  are  dishonest 
nnd  besotted !  Individuals — many  individuals,  and  classes 
amongst  them,  I  respect  and  reverence ;  but  as  a  nation,  I  must 
say.  and  I  can  prove  it,  that  they  are  most  profligate  and  quite 
-oet  in  folly. 

For  a  specimen  of  their  morality,  take  a  few  transactions  of 
fliis  war — a  war  carried  on  for  the  preservation  of  justice,  social 
order,  and  religion  !  Well,  in  this  just  and  religious  war,  the 
Knglish  attack,  plunder,  murder  a  people  with  whom  they  are 
then  a'  peace  !  Without  a  shadow  of  any  provocation,  they,  in 
he  midst  of  peace,  steal  the  Danish  fleet,  burn  the  Danish  capi- 
tal. ai:d  massacre,  even  to  the  infants  in  her  foundling  hospital ! ! 
Pat  fchis  is  not  all.  This  atrocious  crime,  for  which  England 
^»  ill  be  ever  execrated,  and  will,  probably,  be  punished — this 
troci  MS  crime  is  now  followed  by  a  formal  treaty  with  Sweden, 
by  which  England  sanctions  the  robbery  of  an  entire  kingdom. 
Sweden  has  no  more  right  to  Norway  than  Napoleon  to  London ; 
yet  the  English  give  her  Norway !  What  would  they  say  if 
Napoleon  were  now  to  make  a  present  of  Ireland  ?  Sweden  is 
the  good  ally  of  England.  Such  good  friends  ought  to  make 
near  neighbours ;  and  Ireland  would,  I  think,  suit  Swedish  pur- 
poses as  well  as  Norway. 

Such  is  the  morality  of  England,  that  she  has  afforded  tho 
xample  that  would  justify  the  transfer  of  her  own  dominions  to 
foreigners. 

As  to  English  stupidity,  it  is  really  become  proverbial ;  it  is 
treated  by  her  rulers  with  too  little  ceremony.  The  mercenary 
Press  which  they  pay  does  exhibit,  I  think,  a  little  too  much 
contempc  for  the  English  understanding.  The  Courier,  for  ex- 
ample, begins  the  week  with  some  egregious  lie  or  other  ;  the 
writers  are  aware  that  its  falsehood  will  be  discovered  by  Thurs- 
day ;  but  on  Thursday  they  are  prepared  with  a  second  lie, 
which  will  last  till  Saturday,  when  lie  the  third  is  coined  ;  and 
the  English — the  most  thinking  English — swallow,  with  the 
same  unabating  credulity,  the  first,  second,  and  third  of  these 


DANIEL  O'CQNNELL,  ESQ.,  tf.P.  21 P 

lies,  and  are  prepared  to  commence  the  ensuing  week  with  an 
unabated  appetite  for  falsehood  !     (Cheers  and  laughter.) 

To  descend  from  the  nation  to  an  individual.  Can  anything 
be  more  beastly  stupid  than  the  conduct  of  Lord  Kenyon,  who 
is  now  organizing  Orange  lodges  ?  Why  does  not  the  animal 
see  that  the  principle  of  religious  exclusion  might  have  prevented 
him  from  being  a  lord  ? — that  he  has  escaped  into  sinecure  places, 
property,  and  a  peerage,  by  tne  accident  of  his  father's  creed  ? 
For  example — if  his  father,  who  was  a  common  writing  clerk  tc 
an  attorney,  if  he  by  accident  had  been  a  Papist,  the  present 
Lord  Kenyon,  instead  of  being  a  peer,  would,  most  probably, 
have  been  a  private  soldier,  or  a  peasant ;  or,  at  the  utmost;  by 
a  timely  conversion  from  the  errors  of  Popery,  he  might  have 
arrived  at  the  dignity  of  being  the  first  preacher,  and  highest 
bouncer,  of  some  society  of  Welsh  "jumpers."  (Laughter.)  Yes ; 
my  Lord  Kenyon,  if  he  had  a  particle  of  understanding,  would  feel 
that  his  Orange  exertions  expose  the  upstart  only  to  the  contempt 
of  a  people  whom  he  may  oppress,  but  of  whom  he  would  not 
dare  personally  to  insult  the  lowest  individual ! 

Such  is  the  state  of  England ;  she  is  ready  to  sanction  any 
crime — to  credit  any  delusion. 

Her  Orangemen  calumniate  you.  They  only  require  of  you 
one  single  act  of  sedition  and  turbulence,  and  you  will  confirm 
and  establish  their  calumnies  for  ever ! 

I  have,  I  own,  been  tedious  in  the  advice  I  have  given  you  for 
the  regulation  of  your  conduct,  but  think  not  that  I  recommend 
to  you  to  submit  to  Orange  outrage  and  insult.  Let  them  go 
to  war  with  you ;  do  you  content  yourself  with  going  to  law 
with  them.  If  they  dare  to  attack  the  wealthy  Catholic — a 
proceeding  they  are  generally  much  too  prudent  to  adopt,  the 
wealthy  Catholic  can  protect  himself.  If  they  attack  the  poor, 
we  are  bound,  and  willing,  to  procure  protection  for  him  ;  on  his 
behalf  the  protection  of  the  law  shall  be  exerted.  I  am  able  to 
promise  it,  because  :.  ho  Catholic  Board  has  the  rich  treasury  of 
the  Irish  heart  to  draw  upon,  in  order  to  procure  the  funds  ne- 
cessary to  afford  this  protection. 

I  repeat  it ;  no  illegal  outrage  shall  be  committed  with  im- 
punity by  the  Orange  banditti  upon  the  poor,  or  the  hitherto 
unprotected.  This  is  the  first  duty  that  we  owe  to  the  patient 
people. 

We  owe  them  another.  We  owe  them  the  home-market ;  we 
owe  them  the  consumption  of  Irish  manufactures — the  con- 
sumption of  nothing  but  Irish  manufactures.  (Loud  cheers.) 


220  8ELKCT  SPEECHES  OF 

Yes ;  it  is  a  solemn  duty  imposed  upon  the  Irish  C&  .holies,  to 
give  to  their  own  countrymen  the  priority  of  their  custom.  One 
would  imagine  that  it  ought  to  require  no  argument  to  enforce 
this  duty,  but  the  melancholy  fact  is,  that  Ireland  is  debased  and 
degraded ;  first,  and  principally,  because  Irishmen  have  given  a 
perverse  preference  to  everything  that  was  not  Jrish.  We  en 
rich  the  bigots  of  England,  and  we  leave  our  own  manufacturers 
starving,  and  then  we  talk  of  our  patriotism !  In  fact,  the 
clothing  districts  in  England  are  the  most  bigoted  portions  of 
it.  The  no-Popery  cry  commenced  last  year  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  cloth  manufactory.  It  commenced  with  the  dealers  in 
cloth,  at  Pontefract,  in  Yorkshire  ;  and  I  need  only  appeal  to 
the  Leeds  newspaper,  for  the  absurd  virulence  with  which  perse- 
cution is  advocated  in  that  town. 

Why,  in  that  very  paper  I  read  about  a  fortnight  ago  an  ac- 
count of  a  fresh  rebellion  in  Ireland — nay,  in  Dublin  1 !  As 
none  of  you  heard  of  it,  let  me  inform  you,  that  it  actually  took 
place.  (Loud  laughter.)  I  forget  the  day,  but  that  is  not  ma- 
terial. It  took  place  in  Exchequer-street.  The  Nottingham 
regiment  covered  it  with  glory  !  They  fought  the  Popish  rebels 
for  two  hours  ;  the  rebels  ascended  the  houses,  fired  out  of  the 
windows,  threw  brickbats  and  large  stones  from  the  roofs  !  Two 
regiments  of  horse,  three  regiments  of  foot,  the  Flying  Artillery 
from  Island-bridge,  and  the  regiment  of  Artillery  from  Chapel  - 
izod,  all  shared  in  the  honour  of  the  day !  and,  at  length,  the 
main  body  of  the  rebels  retired  to  the  Wicklow  mountains,  and 
the  residue  of  them  went  to  bed  in  town ;  fortunately  no  person 
was  killed  or  wounded,  and  tranquillity  was  restored  by  a  mir- 
acle. (Loud  laughter.) 

Do  you  imagine  I  jest  with  you  ?  No ;  I  solemnly  assure 
you  that  the  story  is  gravely  told  in  the  Leeds  newspaper.  Some 
«)f  the  London  journals  have  copied  it,  even  to  the  scrap  of  bad 
Latin  with  which  Yorkshire  dulness  has  adorned  it ;  and  there 
is  not  a  maker  of  woollen  cloth  at  Leeds  that  would  not  swear 
to  the  truth  of  every  sentence,  and  every  word  of  it ! 

And  are  these  the  men  for  whom  you  are  making  fortunes? 
Are  there  not,  perhaps,  hundreds  that  liave  been  clothed  in  tho 
M  fabric  of  these  dullest  of  all  malignant  bigots  ?"  Probably  the 
wretch  who  fabricated  the  lie  is  himself  engaged  in  the  woolley. 
trade,  and  that  Irish  Catholics  are  his  customers  and  consumers. 
Let  us  teach  these  drivellers  and  dotards  that  they  cannot  insult 
us  with  impunity.  The  most  sensitive  part  of  an  Englishman 
is  his  purse  j  lot  us  apply  ourselves  to  tLis  his  orym  of  sensi- 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  221 

tiveness,  and  make  him  feel  in  his  tenderest  part,  the  absurdity 
*»f  rousing  an  anti- Anglican  spirit  amongst  us  ;  by  this  will  you 
Bullish  your  enemies  ;  but  what  is  still  more  delightful,  by  this 
will  you  encourage  and  stimulate  the  industry  of  your  own  poor 
Countrymen.  (Cheering.) 

Let  us  leave  to  the  Orangemen  the  produce  of  England.  The 
Orangemen  are  the  sworn  enemies  of  Ireland,  and  naturally 
enough  have  ratified  their  alliance  with  England.  But  let  us 
recollect  that  our  own  tradesmen  are  starving ;  that  it  is  in  vain 
to  preach  loyalty  and  obedience  to  the  laws,  if  we  leave  our 
people  without  employment,  if  we  encourage  English  industry 
and  thereby  promote  idleness  in  Ireland.  (Hear,  hear.) 

For  my  own  part,  I  have  long  made  it  a  scrupulous  duty,  not 
to  wear  anything  that  was  not  Irish ;  and  if  you  will  sanction 
so  humble  an  example  by  your  imitation,  you  will  confer  wealth 
and  content  upon  those  who,  in  their  turn,  will  powerfully  aid 
you  in  the  pursuit  of  your  liberties.  I  shall  move,  and  I  am 
confident  you  will  adopt  a  resolution  to  this  effect.  (Hear,  hear, 
hear.) 

I  have  also  one  resolution  more  to  propose.  It  is  suggested 
to  me  by  my  anxiety  to  obtain  an  adequate  counterpoise  from 
the  law  against  the  weight  of  misery  which  the  revival  of  th* 
Orange  system  threatens. 

I  mean  to  move — 

"  That  the  Board  should  prepare  a  second  petition  to  the  legislature, 
to  take  into  consideration  the  judicial  system  in  Ireland — the  adrniniiy- 
o-ation  ol  the  law  amongst  us." 

We  all  know — and  by  sad  experience  we  feel — how  it  is  ad- 
ministered. It  has  been  more  than  once  said,  quaintly  and  not 
untruly,  that  voting  for  the  Union  did  not  make  a  man  a  good 
lawyer.  We  all  know  that  it  did  not,  but  it  made  many  men 
judges ;  and  some  it  made  judges  who  had  never  held  a  brief. 
But  this  is  not  what  I  complain  of  at  present ;  it  is  something 
more  immediately  injurious  ;  it  is  the  profligacy  that  is  induced 
by  the  present  state  of  the  law  in  the  mode  of  selecting  juries  I 
[  need  not  remind  you  of  the  care  with  which  every  Catholic  is 
excluded  from  the  panel — or  at  least  from  the  jury — when  any 
question  interesting  to  us  is  to  be  tried.  How  carefully  every 
envenomed  bigot  is  congregated,  to  pronounce  a  verdict  of  con- 
viction by  anticipation.  Our  petition  must  state  these  facts, 
and  we  will  offer  to  prove  them  in  their  details.  For  example— 
ye  will  oiler  to  prove,  that  a  man  in  the  class  of  bank  directol 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OB 

has  been  heard  to  declare  in  public  company,  that  he  wanted  no 
money — not  he,  from  government — all  he  asked  was,  that  when 
they  should  have  a  Papist  to  try,  that  they  should  put  him  on 
the  jury  !  !  (Cries  of  shame.) 

I  tell  you  that  this  is  a  fact — a  fact  which  we  are  able  dis- 
tinctly to  prove — nay,  more,  that  his  request  was  complied  with, 
or,  at  least,  that  he  was  put  on  a  Papist's  jury !  !  ! 

We  will  also  furnish  the  instance  of  the  present  sheriffs  of 
Dublin — Morgan  and  Studdart ;  they  were  elected  for  no  other 
treason  but  for  their  hostility  to  the  Catholics. 

The  facts  are  public — Mr.  Warner  was  entitled  by  the  cour- 
tesy usually  adopted  in  the  corporation,  to  be  sheriff.  He  was 
called  on  by  Giffard  (what  a  sense  of  justice  this  being  must 
have  !) — he  was  called  on  by  Giffard  to  pledge  himself  against 
the  Catholics.  Mr.  Warner  who  is  a  man  that  does  honour  to 
your  city,  finally  refused  to  give  any  such  pledge.  Messrs.  Mor- 
gan and  Studdart  cheerfully  gave  it.  What  was  the  consequence? 
Why,  Mr.  Warner  was  instantly  rejected — -Morgan  and  Studdart 
instantly  appointed.  The  tenure  of  their  office  was  a  pledge 
against  us — they  have  faithfully  redeemed  that  pledge. 

How  many  gentlemen,  too,  have  been  refused  the  office  of 
•heriff,  for  signing  a  petition  in  our  favour  ?  I  need  not  go  to 
Carlow  for  instances !  How  many  have  been  appointed  for  their 
hostility  to  us  ?  I  need  not  go  to  Kilkenny  for  instances  !  la 
•hort,  my  object  is  simply  this  :  at  present  the  law  treats  the 
Catholics  as  aliens  and  strangers  in  their  native  land.  All  I  re- 
quire is,  that  if  we  are  to  continue  aliens  and  strangers  in  Ire- 
land, we  may  have  the  privilege  of  aliens  and  strangers ;  not  only 
the  Frenchman,  but  the  Turk,  the  Jew,  and  the  negro,  are  en- 
titled to  this  privilege,  that  if  they  are  indicted  for  robbery,  or 
killing  an  Irishman,  the  jury  shall  not  be  all  Iriah,  but  that  one- 
ialf  must  be  foreigners. 

The  privilege  of  the  Jew,  or  the  Turk,  or  the  barbarous  negro, 
IB  all  I  ask  for  the  Catholic.  Let  not  Mr.  Attorney-General  be 
enabled  to  get  up  a  mocking  of  a  trial,  and  array  his  bigots  in 
support  of  the  falling  cause  of  bigotry. 

I  will  conclude  with  a  motion  to  this  effect :  but  let  me  6rst 
recal  to  your  recollection  the  situation  of  one  of  your  earliest 
advocates,  the  Rev.  Steel  Dickson.  He  dared  to  be  honest  and 
independent,  when  it  had  ceased  to  be  a  fashion.  At  one  time, 
the  Presbyterians  of  Ireland  stood  the  very  foremost  amongst  her 
children.  They  it  was  who  principally  forced  a  free  trade  from 
England,  in  1778— 4hej  it  was  who,  in  1782,  insisted  in  arms 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P. 

that  Ireland  should  have  a  free  constitution  ;  and  a  free  consti- 
tution she  instantly  obtained — they  it  was  who  were  the  enthu- 
siastic friends  of  every  liberty.  But,  alas,  how  fallen !  Lord  Cas- 
tlereagh,  Doctor  Black,  and  the  regium  donum  have  converted 
them  into  Orangemen.  As  Orangemen,  they  brought  about  the 
Union  ;  and  now  they  are  persecuting  this  Christian  priest,  this 
preacher  of  the  Most  High  God,  because,  forsooth,  he  has  pre- 
sumed to  preach  peace,  and  charity,  and  good-will  to  all  men. 

Allow  me  to  say  one  word  of  myself.  1  want  to  read  my  re- 
cantation. (A  laugh.)  I  have  been  accused  by  the  public  papers 
of  having  spoken  slightingly  of  Grattan.  I  do  not  think  I  did 
so  ;  but  if  I  did,  I  shall  only  say,  that  I  retract  and  renounce 
my  error.  Grattan  if  he  be  mistaken,  must  ever  be  beloved  by. 
and  a  pride  to,  every  Irish  heart.  (Cheering.) 

Mr.  Q'Connell  concluded  by  moving  the  resolution  respecting 
Irish  manufacture,  and  also  that  for  adopting  and  forwarding  a 
second  Catholic  petition,  during  the  current  session  of  parliament." 


THE  KING  v.  JOHN  MAGEE. 

THE  long  remembered  case  of  the  government  prosecution  of  .Mr.  John  Magee,  proprietor 
of  the  Dublin  Evening  Post,  furnished  occasion  for  M».  O'Connell's  next  speech ;  as  well  an 
for  another  which  we  shall  presently  give,  and  which  was  perhaps  the  most  powerful  of  all 
Ma  forensic  efforts. 

On  this  occasion  Mr.  Magee  was  being  prosecuted  for  an  alleged  libel  upon  the  Duke  of 
Richmond,  then  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland. 

On  Wednesday,  the  8th  of  July,  1813,  the  case  was  called  on,  when  Mr.  Finlay  applied 
fur  a  postponement  until  some  day  in  the  following  Michaelmas  term ;  on  the  ground  ot 
t!ie  absence  of  several  parties,  without  whose  attendance  the  defendant  was  advised  thai 
lie  could  not  safely  proceed  to  trial,  viz.— 

Sir  Charles  saxtot-,  late  Under-Secretary  at  the  Castle, 

Right  Houble  William  Woilesley  Polo,  lat«  Secretary  for  Ireiand, 

Robert  Petl  (.or  7V/«,  as  them  spelled),  then  Secretary  for  Ireland ;  and 

Right  Hon.  William  Fitzgerald  (since  Lord  Fitzgerald  and  Vesci),  Chancellor  of  tue  MA 
Exchequer 

With  Mr.  Finlay  were  Messrs.  G'Connell,  Wallace,  Hamilton,  and  Charles  Phillips 

The  counsel  against  Magee  were— Saurin,  the  Attorney-General,  Bushe,  the  Solicitor- 
General  Gate  Chief  Justice  Queen's  Bench),  Sergeants  Moore  Gate  Judge  Moore),  BaU.  and 
M'Mahon  Gate  Sir  William  M'Mahon,  Master  of  the  Rolls). 

The  Attorney- General  strongly  resisted  the  application,  which  he  characterized  as  "idl» 
and  silly." 

After  a  good  aeal  oi  pe»sonal  invective  against  the  defendant,  he  said—"  My  lords,  you 
will  be  shocked  to  hear  that  the  defendant  is  indicted  and  charged,  by  this  indictment, 
with  charging  his  Grace  of  Richmond  with  being  a  murderer." 

Mr  O'Couneli— 1  must,  my  lords,  interrupt  Mr.  Attorney-General,  intending  him  .10  «h , 


224  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

respect  lie  no*  purports  to  state  matter  which  i?  contained  In  the  indictm^".*,,  >mt  hi 
has  not  given  any  notice  of  using  it  upon  this  motion.  So  that  we  are  not  pi  tu-urf  d  to  et-i'- 
rect,  by  the  attested  copy,  any  misstatements  that  he  may  choose  to  make  of  its  content* 

The  Chief  Justice  allowed  the  Attorney-General  to  proceed. 

The  latter  urged  that  it  was  idle  to  expect  Sir  Charles  Saxton  and  Mr.  Welleslsy  Pol.  u> 
return  to  Ireland,  they  having  no  private  affairs,  uor  fixed  residence  here,  and  be'in*.,  <ut 
of  office. 

That  if  Mr.  Peele  and  Mr.  Fitzgerald  were  not  arrived  on  the  d&y  he  had  fixed  foi  rhe 
trial,  he  would  consent  to  a  postponement  until  the  20th  instant ;  and  if  they  were  not  in 
reland  even  by  that  day,  it  would,  of  course,  be  in  the  hands  of  th.e.Court  to  postpone 
•util  November. 

Mr.  O'Connell  said,  that  as  leading  counsel  for  Mr.  Magee,  it 
was  his  duty  to  reply  to  the  Attorney-General. 

I  am,  indeed,  said  he,  at  a  loss  to  discover  what  it  is  I  am  tc 
reply  to ! 

I  have  heard  from  him  abundance  of  confident  and  unfounded 
assertion,  but. a  total  want  of  anything  resembling  reason  or  ar- 
gument ;  with  his  style,  it  is  beneath  me  to  quarrel ;  but  with 
ihe  manner  in  which  he  has  treated  my  client  and  the  Court,  I 
nave  just  reason  to  be  dissatisfied. 

Against  every  principle  of  law  and  reason  he  pronounces  my 
client  guilty  before  trial ;  he  anticipates  conviction,  and  exults 
in  the  prospect  of  inflicting  punishment  with  as  much  gratifica- 
tion as  if  he  were,  at  the  moment,  in  the  actual  enjoyment  of  so 
ioing.  And  he  has  dictated  to  the  Court  that  which  involves 

direct  contradiction  of  its  former  decisions. 

I  did  interrupt  him,  my  lords,  and  1  -was  right  to  interrupt— 
first,  because  he  made  use  of  a  document,  namely,  the  indictment, 
of  which,  in  point  of  form,  he  could  make  no  use  on  this  motion, 
because  of  not  having  given  any  notice  of  using  it.  Secondly, 
because  he  wilfully  misstated  and  misrepresented  that  indict- 
ment. 

He  has  told  me  that  my  assertion  is  absurd.  It  is  not  a  polite 
mode  of  reply,  but  he  does  say  that  my  assertion  is  absurd.  I 
wish  to  be  lenient  to  him,  but  I  am  compelled  to  prove  that  his 
assertions  are  disgraceful  to  him,  because  directly  contrary  to  the 
fact! 

He  has  told  you  that  Mr.  Magee  is  indicted  as  the  printer  of 
a  newspaper.  My  lords,  the  fact  is  otherwise.  Mr.  Magee  is  not 
indicted  as  the  printer  of  any  newspaper.  He  has  told  you  that 
Mr.  Magee  is  indicted  as  the  proprietor  of  a  newspaper.  My  lords, 
the  fact  is  otherwise.  Mr.  Magee  is  not  indicted  as  the  proprietor 
of  any  newspaper.  And  the  Attorney- General  has  also  told  yc*i 
that  Mr.  Magee  is  indicted  for  charging  the  Duke  of  Richmond 
with  being  a  murderer.  The  truth  is  not  so — the  truth  is  other- 


DANIEL  O'OOJfWELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  225 

Mr.  Magee  is  not  indicted  for  charging  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
ia»/nd  with  being  a  murderer. 

Will  it  then  be  said,  that  it  is  absurd  to  endeavour,  by  inter- 
ruption, to  prevent  the  Court  from  being  imposed  upon  by  so 
glaring  and  disgraceful  a  misrepresentation  of  the  facts  ?  If  so, 
this  is  an  absurdity  which  I  am  proud  of  committing. 

After  this  preface,  extorted  from  me  by  the  arrogant  manner 
of  the  Attorcey-General,  I  beg  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Court 
to  the  motion. 

It  is  really  a  motion  of  course,  if  the  documents  be  sufficient. 
Now,  upon  the  13th  of  May  last,  the  Court  decided  upon  debate; 
and,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  Attorney- General, 
that  those  documents  were  sufficient.  That  determination  was 
founded  upon  good  sense,  ana  upon  admitted  principles  of  law. 
The  ingredients  of  a  motion  to  postpone  a  trial  are  these  : — • 
First,  that  it  be  sworn  that  witnesses  are  material  and  necessary; 
secondly,  that  they  have  been  served  with  process  to  compel  their 
attendance ;  thirdly,  that  they  are  prevented  from  attending  by 
reasons  of  a  temporary  nature  ;  and,  fourthly,  that  there  is  a  rea- 
sonable expectation  and  a  prospect  of  their  attending  upon  a 
future  day.  All  these  ingredients  belong  to  the  present  motion. 

1.  It  is  sworn  that  the  four  witnesses  are  material  and  neces- 
sary. 

2.  That  they  have  been  served  with  process. 

3.  That  they  are  detained  in  England  by  parliamentary  duty, 
and  appear  to  be  protected  in  their  absence  by  their  parliamen- 
tary privilege. 

i.  And  that  there  is  every  reason  to  expect  their  attendance 
by  the  first  day  of  next  term. 

Upon  these  grounds,  common  sense  tells  you  that  a  trial  ought 
to  be  postponed ;  and  upon  these  grounds  the  law  says  it  must 
be  postponed. 

Has  any  man  denied  that  this  is  the  law  ?  Will  any  man 
presume  to  deny  that  this  is  the  law  ?  if  he  do,  my  lords,  I 
will  cite  a  case  directly  in  point  to  sustain  my  allegation.  I 
will  not  search  for  it  in  the  blue-paper  books  of  stupid  reports, 
which  every  packet  brings  us— the  English  Court  of  King's 
Bench  contradicting  their  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  each  of 
those  courts  most  impartially  contradicting  itself — reports  that 
involve  present  litigants  in  an  inextricable  maze  of  controversy, 
and  will  entail  upon  posterity  the  curse  of  still  more  uncertain 
and  more  interminable  litigation.  I  cite  not  any  of  these  cases, 
1  cite  the  case  of  tlie  King  against  Magee.  The  identical  case 


226  SELECT  SPEECHES  QF 

decided  by  your  lordships  on  the  last  day  of  last  term.  Upon 
the  very  documents  which  I  use  now,  you  then  decided  that  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  Court,  and  the  right  of  the  party,  to  have 
the  trial  postponed.  Then,  as  now,  the  Attorney- General  ex- 
erted himself  to  have  Mr.  Magee  tried  in  the  absence  of  his 
witnesses — then,  as  now,  he  gave  you  assertion  instead  of  argu- 
ment— abuse  instead  of  logic. 

Does  he  expect  that  this  Court  will  contradict  itself?  Shall 
it  be  said,  that  the  highest  criminal  court  of  justice  in  the  land 
has  decided  the  same  question  in  two  different  ways  ? — that  on 
the  31st  of  May,  they  decided  on  the  same  documents  and  be- 
tween the  same  parties,  that  the  trial  should  be  postponed ;  and 
on  the  7th  of  July,  upon  those  veiy  documents  and  between 
those  very  parties,  that  it  should  not  be  postponed  ?  Does  the 
Attorney-General  expect  that  the  Court  will  involve  itself  in  this 
plain  and  manifest  contradiction — that  it  will  this  day  decide 
one  thing,  and  to-morrow  decide  exactly  the  reverse  ? 

In  his  unfeeling,  unjust,  and  unconstitutional  anxiety  to  try 
Mr.  Magee  at  a  time  when  his  witnesses  are  absent,  the  Altorne  \  - 
General  cares  little  for  the  character  and  dignity  of  the  O-irt, 
His  only  object  is  the  gratification  of  a  malignant  spirit  of  re- 
venge, which  the  Court  will,  as  it  ought,  feel  a  pleasure  in  coun- 
teracting, when  at  the  same  time  it  vindicates  its  owu  consis- 
tency. 

But,  my  lords,  there  is,  in  fact,  a  difference  between  the  pre- 
sent application  and  the  last,  precisely  because  our  case  is  stronger 
in  the  present  instance  than  in  the  former.  Then,  my  lords,  we 
could  have  made  but  one  attempt  to  procure  the  attendance  of 
those  witnesses.  Now  we  show  you  many  exertions  to  procure 
their  attendance.  Our  diligence  was  less  on  the  former  occasion 
— it  is  now  greater ;  and  is  it  possible  to  conceive  anything  morn 
absurd  than  to  expect  that  the  Court  will,  at  tne  request  or  npon 
the  dictation  of  the  Attorney-General,  now  refuse  that  to  a 
stronger  case,  which  the  Court,  on  the  last  occasion,  conceded  to 
a  weaker  and  less  powerful  case.  The  administration  of  justice 
would  fall  into  great  disrepute,  and  the  law  would  be  a  mockery, 
if  that  which  was  deliberately  decided  on  the  21st  of  May  should, 
by  the  same  judges,  upon  a  stronger  and  a  better  case,  be  re- 
versed on  the  7th  of  July. 

1  feel,  my  lords,  that  it  is  impossible  that  such  an  example  of 
inconsistency  arid  want  of  principle  in  decision,  can  be  sanctioned 
for  one  moment  by  the  Court,  however  ardently  sought  for  by 
the  Attorney-General  Thus  stands  the  case  upon  our  affidavit*. 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,    ESQ.,    M.P.  227 

Ton  decided  with  us  before ;  we  only  require  a  repetition  of  your 
decision. 

But,  it  is  said  the  case  is  different  now — that  there  is  now  an 
affidavit  made  on  the  part  of  the  Crown,  which  will  warrant  thv 
Court  in  departing  from  its  former  rule.  This  I  must  altogethe' 
deny  ;  and  I  am  prepared  to  show  you,  first,  that  you  canno* 
read  that  affidavit  at  all ;  secondly,  that  even  if  it  were  read,  i\ 
would  furnish  no  grounds  for  resisting  our  motion.  This  affi 
davit  cannot  be  read,  because  the  person  who  makes  it  shows  no 
connection  with  the  court  or  the  parties.  He  furnishes  no  de- 
scription of  himself — no  reason  to  account  why  he  should  thro\v 
an  affidavit  on  your  files ;  he  calls  himself  James  Murphy,  ol 
the  city  of  Dublin ,  but  which  of  the  thousands  of  Jemmy 
Murphy s  who  people  Dublin,  you  have  no  means  to  ascertain  ; 
whether  he  belong  to  Channel-row  or  Kildare-street,  you  cannot 
conjecture ;  if  he  be  gentleman,  esquire,  knight,  or  baronet, 
attorney,  doctor,  grocer,  or  merchant — all  this  is  concealed  from 
the  Court :  he  states  himself  to  be  "  James  Murphy,"  of  the  city 
of  Dublin,  and  no  more.  This  affidavit  has  been  made  delibe- 
rately and  advisedly.  It  has  been  filed  by  the  active  and  intel- 
ligent Solicitor  for  the  Crown.  It  has  been  advised,  of  course, 
by  some  or  all  of  the  wise,  grave,  and  learned  phalanx  of  counsel 
for  the  prosecution.  Why,  then,  is  the  swearer  concealed1?  Let 
them  give  us  a  reason  for  introducing  a  nondescript  to  the  court. 
Oh  !  he  is  safe — this  James  Murphy  is  !  How  can  we  detect — 
how  can  we  punish  him  for  perjury  1  Where  shall  we  look  for 
him  ?  How  shall  we  identify  him  1  If  the  Court  receives  this 
affidavit,  it  holds  out  an  indemnity  to  perjury — a  protection 
against  discovery,  to  fabrication  and  forgery. 

The  prosecutors  have  not,  however,  the  merit  of  invention; 
they  only  imitate.  The  original  example  of  setting  at  defiance 
wus  given  them  by  the  contrivers  of  a  public  djcument,  presented 
to  an  honourable  assembly,  subscribed  in  many  a  forged  and  fic- 
titious name,  by  rendering  detection  difficult  by  its  uncertainty : 
to  that  document  were  affixed  four-and- twenty  Armstrongs,  all 
"  of  the  city  of  Dublin."  Thus  may  every  species  of  imposition, 
of  perjury,  and  of  forgery  be  committed,  if  not  without  disgrace, 
at  least  without  punishment.  This  affidavit  cannot  be  read,  be- 
cause it  is  the  affidavit  of  a  nondescript.  The  rules  of  the  court 
require  the  particular  description  of  every  man  who  comes  for- 
ward to  give  his  written  testimony  on  oath.  Here  is  no  descrip- 
tion ;  you  must,  therefore,  reject  this  affidavit. 

Again,  it  is  a  ruled  case  that  no  affidavit  can  be  read. 


2?P,  SELECT  SPEECHES  Of 

the  person  shows  Rome  acknowledged  connection  with  the  conrt 
or  the  cause.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  Sullivan  v.  Margill,  reported 
in  1st  Hen.,  Black.  637,  an  affidavit  was  made  to  postpone  a 
trial.  The  affidavit  stated  quite  a  sufficient  case  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  the  trial  would  have  been  postponed  accordingly,  but 
that  it  was  discovered  to  have  been  made  by  the  clerk  of  the  de- 
fendant's attorney,  describing  himself  as  such.  My  lords,  the 
affidavit  was  rejected,  and  the  motion  refused  on  that  account. 
It  was  rejected  and  refused,  because  the  Court  would  not  recog- 
nise any  connection  between  the  attorney's  clerk  and  the  court, 
or  the  cause  entitling  him  to  make  an  affidavit  in  the  cause. 
.See  how  much  a  stronger  case  the  present  is  for  rejecting  this 
affidavit.  There  the  man  who  made  the  affidavit  was  an  ascer- 
tained person,  and  actually  employed  as  the  assistant  of  the  at- 
torney of  the  defendant.  Here  the  affidavit-maker  is  unknown, 
and  does  not  appear  to  have  any  connection  whatsoever,  even 
with  the  attorney.  If  the  Court  in  that  case,  which  has  eve/ 
since  been  recognised  as  law,  refused  to  hear  a  person  who  cer- 
tainly had  some,  though  a  remote  connection  with  the  cause 
ind  the  parties,  how  can  you  hear  a  mere  volunteer,  who  has  no 
lonnection,  remote  or  otherwise,  either  with  the  court  or  the 
parties? 

It  follows,  in  point  of  convenience,  good  sense,  precedent,  jus- 
tice, and  law,  that  this  affidavit  must  be  rejected.  But  let  me 
concede  that  notwithstanding  all  those,  it  may  be  read.  What 
advantages  can  it  afford?  What  difference  can  it  make  in  the 
case  ?  You  may,  then,  see  what  it  is  that  James  Murphy,  who- 
ever he  be,  and  I  care  not  who  he  be,  swears.  He  tells  you,  upon 
his  oath,  that  he  believes  that  Saxton.  who  has  sought  and  won 
the  unpurchaseable  suffrages  of  the  ancient  and  loyal  corporation 
of  Cashel,  does  not  intend  to  grace  Ireland  again  with  his  pre 
eence;  that  Mr.  Wellesley  Pole,  the  representative  of  the  Queen'iJ 
County,  does  not,  as  this  worthy  Jemmy  Murphy  believes,  pos- 
sess any  residence  in  Ireland,  nor  does  he  intend,  as  the  said  Mur- 
phy believes,  to  return  here ;  and  he  then  swears  that  he  believes 
Mr.  Robert  Peele  intends  to  come  back,  and  that  Mr.  William 
Fitzgerald  intends  to  revisit  Ireland  shortly.  And  can  this  lu- 
dicrous— this  nonsensical  affidavit — this  affidavit,  that  in  every 
re-statement  of  it  excites  the  laughter  and  contempt  of  every 
person  who  hears  it — can  it  be  gravely  urged,  as  affording  a 
shadow  of  excuse  for  requiring  of  you  to  change  your  pronounced 
feud  solemn  opinion  on  the  subject  of  this  trial? 

It  is,  my  lords,  worse  than  no  excuse;  it  tends  to  render  U»e 


IU.NIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  229 

administration  of  justice  ridiculous,  to  urge  it,  or  to  argue  npou 
it.  But  the  Attorney-General  is  so  very  desirous  to  have  this 
trial  take  place  before  the  witnesses  for  Mr.  Magee  can  attend, 
that  I  must  be  indulged  in  a  short  comment  on  this  affidavit. 
One  can  easily  perceive  that  it  is  a  bungling  and  slovenly  at- 
tempt to  produce  some  similarity  between  his  case  and  the  case 
of  the  King  v.  the  Chevalier  D'Eon,  the  3rd  Bur.  1514;  and  as, 
in  that  case,  the  Court  refused  to  postpone  the  trial,  although 
the  witnesses  were  absent ;  so  it  is  hoped  that  your  lordshipb 
will,  on  the  authority  of  it,  refuse  to  postpone  this  trial.  But 
examine  the  facts,  and  you  will  see  that  case  cannot  furnish  anj 
rule  to  govern  this.  In  D' Eon's  case  the  witnesses  were  natives 
of  France,  and  resident  there ;  they  were  in  the  service  of  the 
crown,  and  as  the  French  court  was  interested  in  the  prosecu- 
tion, they  would  not  even  be  permitted,  if  they  were  willing,  to 
come  over.  There  was  no  probability,  therefore,  of  their  future 
attendance;  on  the  contrary,  there  was  a  certainty  that  post- 
ponement of  the  trial  must  be  useless,  as  those  witnesses  could 
never  attend. 

One  regrets,  indeed,  that  Lord  Mansfield  suffered  himself  to 
be  swayed  even  by  so  plain  an  argument,  when  the  case  afforded 
a  principle  upon  which  the  trial  might,  and  ought  to  have  been 
postponed.  It  was  this :  The  French  king  was,  in  fact,  the  pro- 
secutor; it  was  at  his  instance  the  prosecution  was  instituted 
yet  he  it  was  who  detained  the  witnesses.  It  seems  that  it  would 
have  required  but  little  of  the  indignant  spirit  of  liberty,  which 
the  constitution  requires  from  its  judges,  to  have  enabled  Lord 
Mansfield  to  have  decided  that  he  who  prosecuted  should  not  be 
permitted  to  prevent  a  fair  trial ;  that  if  he  detained  the  wit- 
nesses, the  Court  would  postpone  the  trial,  so  as  to  attain  justice 
— not  as  our  Attorney-General  desires  to  go  on,  merely  to  pro- 
cure punishment.  No ;  Lord  Mansfield  was  not  a  man  calcu- 
lated to  disappoint  power  of  its  prey,  and  he  refused  to  postpone 
the  trial. 

Let  the  Attorney-General,  then,  make  the  most  of  his  precedent. 
D*Eon's  case  does  not  resemble  ours — the  witnesses  were  in. 
France,  out  of  the  jurisdiction ;  ours  are  in  England,  within  th* 
jurisdiction  of  the  authority  of  your  process.     His  witnesses  weiu 
beyond  the  reach  of  punishment  for  any  disobedience  of  the  pro 
cess  of  the  English  courts ;  our  witnesses  are  liable  to  punish 
meiit  if  they  disobey  your  process.     His  witnesses  could  not  b* 
compelled  to  attend  ;  our  witnesses  can,  and  when  parliament 
will  be  compelled  to  attend.     His  witnesses  would  not  be 


230  SELECT  SPEECHES  O 

permitted  to  leave  France ;  no  man  can  prevent  our  witnesses 
from  leaving  England  and  coming  here.  The  Duke  of  Richmond, 
who,  one  may  venture  to  hope,  has  no  anxiety  to  prevent  a  fair 
trial,  and  Mr.  Attorney- General,  who  clearly  does  wish  to  prevent 
a  fair  trial,  cannot  exclude  our  witnesses  from  Ireland,  nor  detain 
them  in  England.  In  D'Eon's  case,  the  postponement  ho  re- 
quired would  have  been  nugatory ;  he  had  no  prospect  of  pro- 
curing his  witnesses,  even  if  the  time  he  asked  had  been  granted. 
In  our  case,  the  postponement  gives  us  a  certainty  of  procuring 
the  attendance  of  our  witnesses.  D'Eon's  case  can,  therefore,  fui 
nish  no  rule  to  regulate  this  case ;  which,  so  far  from  being  like 
D'Eon's.  is  precisely  the  reverse.  • 

Mr.  Justice  Day— The  cases,  certainly,  are  not  alike,  as  yon  put  them ;  and  your  distinc- 
tion is  founded,  if  you  can  show  us  how  you  can  compel  the  Attendance  of  English  wit- 
nesses here. 

Mr.  O'Connell. — There  is  no  difficulty  in  that,  my  lord.  Their 
attendance  can  be  compelled,  under  the  provisions  of  the  45th 
of  the  King,  c.  84.  An  act  passed  for  tha  amendment  of  Judge 
Johnson's  Act.  In  Judge  Johnson's  case,  the  gross  and  glaring 
inconvenience  and  injustice  which  would  manifestly  arise  from 
taking  a  man  from  the  place  where  he  had  really  done  any  act 
to  a  place  where  he  had  offended  only  constructively — to  a  place 
where,  though  he  might  be  transported  himself,  he  could  not 
compel  the  attendance  of  his  witnesses.  This  injustice  was  BO 
forcibly  felt,  that  the  legislature  interfered,  and  softened,  in  some 
degree,  the  injustice  of  the  first  statute,  by  the  act  of  the  45th 
of  the  King,  which  gives  a  power  to  the  Irish  and  English  courts 
jf  criminal  justice  reciprocally  to  enforce  the  attendance  of  wit- 
nesses from  one  kingdom  into  the  other.  The  provisions  of  the 
statute  are  express,  and  include  all  cases. 

And  thus,  my  lords,  by  your  lordship's  confession,  I  have  dis- 
*inguished  this  case  from  the  authority  of  D'Eon's  case.  There 
js,  therefore,  not  a  shadow  of  reason,  authority,  or  law  for  refus- 
ing this  postponement,  until  we  can  procure  our  witnesses.  Even 
the  Attorney-General  admits  it,  when  he  concedes  that  the  triaJ 
Khali  stand  over  until  Mr.  Peele  and  Mr.  Fitzgerald  shall  arrive. 
So  far  he  cannot  controvert  our  request. 

But,  as  to  Sir  Charles  Saxton  and  Mr.  Pole,  he  says  the  case 
js  different.  In  what  is  the  case  different  ?  Simply  and  singly 
m  this,  that  the  Attorney  says  so — in  nothing  else.  Oh  1  but, 
perhaps  Mr.  Peele  is  a  man  after  Mr.  Attorney-General's  own 
f  leart,  and  that  Mr.  Pole  is  not.  I  know  of  no  other  difference  ; 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  231 

and  I  really  disdain  to  argue  a  topic  in  which  I  have  not  a  par- 
ticle of  common  sense  to  contend  against,  and  nothing  to  oppost 
but  the  ipse  dixit  of  the  Attorney- General.  Mark  the  sapient 
the  admirable  distinction  of  this  wise  and  grave  personage.  Ht 
tells  the  Court  that  the  trial  ought  to  be  postponed  till  Mr.  Peelt 
and  Mr.  Fitzgerald  arrive;  but  that  it  ought  not  to  be  postponed 
till  Sir  Charles  and  Mr.  Pole  arrive.  What  am  I  to  combat  1 
Upon  what  is  the  Court  to  act  ? — Upon  the  high  will  and  plea- 
sure of  the  Attorney- General  ?  Really,  my  lords,  I  should  fear 
to  insult  your  understandings  by  detaining  you  in  exposing  the 
idle  and  extravagant  nonsense  which  attempts  to  distinguish  be- 
tween two  of  the  witnesses,  for  whom  it  ifc  admitted  the  trial 
must  wait,  and  for  two  others  of  them  for  whom  it  is  ^insisted 
that  it  shall  not  wait.  It  would  be  better  to  decide  upon  avowed 
caprice,  or  the  hazard  of  a  die,  than  upon  this  wretched  distinc-* 
tion,  without  the  shadow  of  difference. 

I  conclude,  my  lords,  by  merely  stating  to  the  Court  what  it 
is  we  want.  It  is  merely  to  postpone  the  trial  until  the  termi- 
nation of  the  session  of  parliament  shall  have  deprived  our  wit- 
nesses of  all  excuse  for  non-attendance.  It  is  not  suggested,  even 
upon  the  faith  or  the  credulity  of  this  James  Murphy,  that  Mr. 
Magee  has  any  intention  of  eluding  a  trial  or  of  preventing  the 
•lue  course  of  justice.  Murphy's  paltry  affidavit  does  not  pre* 
sume  to  suggest  that  which  is  so  manifestly  contrary  to  truth. 

Mr.  Attorney-General,  indeed,  of  his  own  authority,  tells  us 
that  we  desire  to  postpone  the  trial  wider  the  pretence  of  wanting 
witnesses,  whilst  in  fact  we  do  not  want  them.  I  tell  him  he 
mistakes  or  misrepresents.  We  do  not  seek  to  put  off  the  trial 
under  any  pretence.  We  desire  to  put  it  off  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  a  fair  and  impartial  trial,  and  a  full  investigation  of  all 
the  facts  of  our  defence.  We  desire  a  fair  trial ;  the  Attorney-Gene- 
ral requires  a  trial  in  the  absence  of  our  witnesses.  The  Court 
will  decide  between  us ;  it  will  decide  as  it  has  already  done 
and,  perceiving  that  as  great  injustice  and  oppression  must  fol- 
low from  complying  with  the  Attorney- General's  request,  while* 
no  unfair  advantage  can  be  obtained  by  our  motion,  it  will  again 
decide  that  the  trial  shall  be  postponed,  until  the  cause  of  the 
absence  of  our  witnesses  is  removed 

The  Solicitor-General  rose  and  said,  that  it  was  possible  all  the  witnesses  might  he  able 
to  attend  on  the  20th ;  that  he  did  not  desire  aiiy  order  inconsistent  with  a  full,  fair,  and 
Impartial  investigation  of  the  merits — God  forbid  he  should !  He  would,  therefore,  pro» 
yuse  that  the  trial  should  now  stand  postponed  generally  till  the  20th ;  and  if  then  it 
uhould  appear  that  any  of  the  witnesses  were  prevented  from  attending,  the  Judge  at  N*4 
Frltw  would  and  he  admitted  oulfct  to,  postpone  the  trial  till  the  next  term. 


232  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

Mr.  O'Connell  declared  hit  perfect  satisfaction  at  what  had  fallen  from  the  learned  Soli- 
citor-General, .and  a  rule  was  pronounced  accordingly.  Thus  has  the  object  of  the  motion 
beou  completely  obtained. 


PERSONAL  ATTACKS. 

OR  the  10th  of  July,  in  the  Catholic  Board,  letters  were  handed  in  from  certain  absent 
members,  which  were  understood  to  contain  personal  attacks 
On  this  ground,  Mr.  Hahon  objected  to  their  being  publicly  read. 

Mr.  O'Connell  said,  that  if  the  fact  was  as  had  been  stated 
(but  he  was  very  loth  to  believe  that  tfyese  letters  of  Sir  Francis 
Goold  and  Mr.  James  O'Gorman  contained  attacks  upon  indivi- 
duals), they  ought  not  to  be  published  without  having  under- 
gone a  previous  inquiry.  For  Mr.  O'Gorman  he  had  a  very  sincere 
regard,  and  claimed  his  friendship ;  but  on  a  general  principle 
lie  made  this  objection.  The  principle  was  this,  that  if  any  per- 
son were  at  liberty  to  attack  others  by  letter,  it  might  be  done 
with  impunity.  A  person  in  India,  for  example,  might  thus 
Assail  either  of  those  gentlemen,  the  learned  baronet  or  Mr. 
O'Gorman,  or  any  other  member  of  the  Board.  The  individuals 
thus  attacked  would  have  no  opportunity  of  righting  themselves 
oy  inflicting  that  chastisement  which  an  unfounded  and  insolent 
<etter  might  merit.  (Applause.)  It  was  on  this  principle,  and 
without  any  allusion  to  the  present  letters,  that  he  would  sup- 
port Mr.  Mahon's  motion. 

Mr.  O'Connell  took  the  present  opportunity  to  state  a  fact 
which  had  just  come  to  his  knowledge.  The  question  of  religious 
liberty  had  been  debated  in  the  Presbyterian  Synod  of  Ulster  a 
few  days  back  ;  it  was  introduced  by  that  venerable  and  enlight- 
ened advocate  of  liberty  of  conscience,  the  Rev.  Steele  Dixon ; 
and,  after  a  full  and  ample  discussion,  it  was  carried  with  the 
most  perfect  triumph. 

One  hundred  and  thirty  of  the  clergy  and  elders  of  the  Pres- 
oyterian  Church,  loudly  and  unanimously  declared  themselves 
in  favour  of  extending  religious  freedom  to  every  man ;  eight 
only  opposed  it,  and  those  eight  have  since  expressed  their  regret, 
that  motives  of  respect  and  deference  for  the  opinions  of  some 
noble  lords,  &c.,  (motives  with  them)  had  been  the  occasion  of 
their  opposition,  but  that  in  sentiment  they  fully  accorded  with 
the  majority.  Therefore,  the  transactions  of  that  day  must  bo 
•considered  a  great  and  signal  triumph,  not  simply  fcr  the  cause 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  133 

of  the  Catholics,  but  for  that  of  all  those  who  suffer  for  a  con- 
scientious adherence  to  the  creed  they  believe  best. 

He  would  prefer  giving  notice  of  a  motion  of  thanks  to  the 
Synod  to  be  passed  next  Saturday,  to  proposing  it  at  the  present 
moment,  though  he  was  certain  if  he  were  to  do  so,  it  would  be 
carried  with  acclamation,  and  no  person  found  to  enforce  the 
standing  order ;  but  he  chose  to  postpone  it  till  next  meeting, 
that  it  might  come  with  that  dignity  and  weight,  which  a  regular 
notice  and  a  week's  deliberation  would  bestow  upon  it.  (This 
notice  was  received  with  the  loudest  approbation.) 


HENRY  GRATTAN. 

Mr.  M'Dor.nell  brought  forward  aa  address  to  Henry  Grattan. 

Mr.  O'Connell  fully  agreed  in  the  principle  of  gratitude  to 
Mr.  Grattan  which  the  address  conveyed;  but  at  this  moment 
above  all  others,  it  was  necessary  that  they  should  be  distinctly 
understood.  He  said  it  came  highly  recommended  when  offered 
by  the  most  respectable  gentleman  who  had  proposed  it,  but 
still  there  were  some  phrases  in  it  which,  he  was  bound  to  Ray, 
he  could  wish  to  see  altered. 

We  could  not  (he  continued)  be  sufficiently  profuse  in  the  ex- 
pressions of  gratitude  and  veneration  for  that  distinguished  cha- 
racter. It  was  impossible  to  do  justice  to  a  name  which  was  the 
boast  and  glory  of  every  Irishman.  (Hear,  hear.) 

The  splendour  of  Grattan's  talents  had  been  eclipsed  by  the 
noble  integrity  of  his  heart;  and  he  was  the  brightest  ornament 
of  his  native  land,  which  he  had  so  eminently  served.  If  she 
had  fallen  again,  and  had  again  to  commence  the  career  of  na- 
tional freedom,  no  fault  could  be  attributed  to  Henry  Grattan, 
who  had  waked  her  first  to  independence,  and  fought  the  manly 
and  the  good  fight  for  her  liberties.  His  eloquence  could  never 
have  been  equalled ;  but  if  the  other  anti-Unionists  had  equalled 
him  in  other  points — if  they  had  caught  one  spark  of  his  valour 
Ireland  would  not  now  be  a  province,  nor  would  stupidity  and 
heavy  ignorance  have  battled  their  way  to  judicial  station,  and 
profited  by  the  extinction  of  our  country ! 

With  these  sentiments  warm  and  glowing  in  my  breast,  I  have 
at  the  same  time  another  duty — a  more  sacred  duty — the  duty 
1  owe  to  Ireland. 


234  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

It  consists  in  having  her  cause — for  the  cause  of  religious  li- 
berty is  her  cause — brought  forward  in  the  only  manner  that 
can  be  deemed  compatible  with  our  interest,  and  with  our  ho 
nour.  I  do,  therefore,  with  great  respect,  beg  leave  entirely  to 
controvert  the  assertion  of  my  friend  Mr.  McDonnell.  1  beg 
leave  to  deny  that  Mr.  Grattan  has  done  the  best  he  could  for 
us,  during  the  present  session. 

Was  it  the  best  to  agree  to  the  double  Veto?  Was  it  the  best 
to  consent,  that  the  secretaryVclerk  at  the  Castle  should  have 
tho  nomination  of  the  hitherto,  and  now  venerated  and  venera- 
ble prelacy  of  Ireland?  Was  it  tho  best  to  talk  of  securities? 
To  countenance  that  insult  alike  to  our  understandings,  and  to 
our  hearts — that  insult  which  says,  that  in  subjection  and  in  de- 
gradation, the  Catholics  will  continue  faithful,  but  that  from 
participation  in  the  benefits  of  the  constitution,  disloyalty  is  to 
ensue — and  hence,  that  "  securities*1  are  reqtiisite  ! ! 

I  will  not  follow  this  exasperating  topic ;  but  I  will  say,  that 
the  sacred  duty  that  I  owe  to  this  "mine  own,  my  native  land" 
impels  me  to  say,  that  Henry  Grattan  was  greatly  and  grievously 
mistaken  in  this  session  of  parliament. 

I  only  require  that  we  should  reconcile  these  concurrent  duties. 
Let  us  thank  Grattan  with  all  the  veins  of  our  hearts,  but  let  us 
not  use  a  single  expression  which  can,  by  any  construction  what- 
soever, be  tortured  into  any  approbation  of  the  late  very  mis- 
taken and  mischievous  bill.  I  do  not  require,  nor  would  I  con- 
sent, that  Jiny  trace  of  ill-humour  or  reproach  should  be  found 
in  our  address;  but  I  would  wish  that  you  should  suggest  to 
him  his  former  glories  in  the  cause  of  '«  SIMPLE  REPEAL,"  *  and 
entreat  of  him  again  to  adopt  for  the  motto  of  his  country,  and 
her  watchword  in  the  war  of  parliament,  "  SIMPLE  REPEAL  !" 
Cheers.) 

I  am  anxious  to  infix  this  truth  on  the  minds  of  all  our  par- 
liamentary friends,  that  it  is  for  the  great  principle  of  religious  li- 
berty that  we  contend,  and  not  for  individual  advantages  to  the 
Catholic  body.  Let  the  sentiment  be  the  main  idea  of  every 
address,  as  well  as  of  every  petition ;  and  though  we  may  be  de- 
feated, we  shall  never  again  be  disgraced  ! 

*  Alluding  to  the  discussions  of  1782,  when  the  question  was,  whether  the  Irish  parlia- 
ment would  consider  its  independence  sufficiently  vindicated,  and  asserted  by  the  mere 
repeal  of  the  Act  of  the  English  parliament  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  George  the 
First,  by  which  the  latter  claimed  and  usurped  legislative  authority  over  Ireland,  or  who 
tlier  an  express  renunciation  of  this  usurped  legislative  authority  should  be  insisted  on. 

Grattan  Aras  for  "sirnjJe  Repeat,"  Flood  for  the  trpre&s  renunciation.  The  first  WM 
obtained  in  1782,  and  the  second  the  year  after,  viz.,  1783,  by  the  23d  George  III.,  chapter 
98,  declaring  our  legislative  and  judicial  Independence  "  ESTABLISHED  FOK  KVKR  '" 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  235 

I  would,  under  these  circumstances,  earnestly  press  upon  my 
esteemed  friend  to  postpone  the  address  to  Mr.  Grattau  for  the 
present ;  to  consent  to  have  it  referred  to  the  sub-committee,  in 
order  to  have  it  modelled  upon  the  principle  and  in  the  manner 
that  I  suggest.  It  will  not  be  the  less  complimentary  to  Mr 
Grattan  for  being  the  work  of  deliberation,  and  it  clearly  will 
be  more  useful  and  more  honourable  to  ourselves. 

Upon  this  subject  let  us  not  have — I  trust  we  shall  not  have 
— any  division,  Oui-  country  has  suffered  for  centuries  from 
degradation  and  oppression,  brought  on  her,  and  perpetuated  by 
her  internal  divisions.  First,  the  Irish  were  divided  amongst 
themselves  ;  then  the  English  were  divided  from  the  Irish;  then 
followed  the  long-cherished  divisions  between  the  Catholics  and 
the  Protestants ;  and  now  yet  another  division  is  encouraged  by 
the  government.  Every  individual  in  the  Catholic  body,  whom 
the  administration  §an  influence,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  is 
separated  from  the  Catholic  prelates  and  the  people.  An  en- 
deavour was  made  to  control  us ;  it  failed,  and  now  the  plan  is 
secession.  For  my  part,  I  rejoice  at  the  secession  of  those  who 
desire  to  gratify  themselves,  and  not  to  servo  their  country. 

But  whom  do  we  miss?  I  do  not  perceive  the  deficiency. 
Our  meetings,  as  it  appears  to  me,  have  never  been  so  crowded 
with  the  health,  and  strength,  and  independence  of  the  body,  as 
since  the  last  and  poorest  attempt  to  stay  our  majestic  onward 
course  towards  the  temple  of  concord  and  freedom.  (Cheers.) 

Let  us,  then,  concur  in  the  twc%  leading  features  of  this  address 
— gratitude — eternal  gratitude  to  Grattan ;  fidelity — unalterable 
fidelity  to  our  country.  To  combine  both,  I  move  that  the  ad- 
dress which  has  been  this  day  brought  forward  and  read  by  Mr. 
M'Donnell,  be  referred  to  the  sub-committee  to  report  upon  this 
day  week. 


%     IRISH  MANUFACTURE. 

Mr.  O'Connell  bronglit  forward  his  promised  motions  on  this  subject 

The  first  resolution  is,  that  no  member  be  allowed  to  speak  or  vote  at  the  Hoard,  after 
the  1st  of  August,  who  shall  not  be  clothed  in  Irish  manufacture. 

The  second,  that  the  ladies  of  Ireland  be  entreated  to  encourage  the  wear  of  their  native 
manufacture,  and  not  to  introduce  any  other. 

Tim  third,  that  n  committee  of  seven  be  appointed,  for  the  purpose  of  calling  upon  the 
Protestant  gentlemen  of  tlie  country  t:  form  "  An  Association  f»r  (lie  encouragement  of  con- 
*umntion  of  fri-th  *Vannfaetitrt.n  Tlve  resolutions  were  aii  received  wit'ii  iouri  nppieuct 

M!  were  pn«sed  by  acclamation  " 


230  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

1);.;  following  gentlemen  were  then  appointed  upon  this  committee : — 

Mr.  O'Connell,  Counsellors  O'Gorman  and 

Mr.  Richard  O'Gorman,  Finn,  and 

Doctor  Sheridan,  R.  O'Bryan,  Esq. 

E.  Cox,  Esq. 

Mr.  O'Connell  then  moved  that  his  resolutions  should  be  printed  in  the  liberal  papers  • 
r»uliin,  and  in  the  liberal  prints  of  Limerick,  Cork,  Walerford,  Kilkenny,  and  Clonmel, 
and  in  a  Belfast  paper. 
This  was  also  agreed  to,  and  the  meeting  adjourned. 

On  Tuesday,  the  20th  July,  Mr.  Saurin  moved  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  "  that  the  caw* 
rf  the  King  against  Magee,  ir  consequence  of  the  continued  absence  of  Messrs.  Fitzgerald, 
Pole,  Peele,  and  Sir  Charles  Saxton,  witnesses  for  the  defendant,  should  stand  over  to 
Monday,  the  26th,"  which  was  accordingly  granted. 


ADDRESS  TO  HENRY  GR^TTAtf. 

OK  the  preceding  Saturday,  the  17th  of  July,  the  address  to  Mr.  Grattan  was  reported  t« 
the  Catholic  Board  by  its  original  proposer,  Mr.  M'DonnelL 

In  the  course  of  his  speech  on  this  occasion,  be  alluded  to  the  continued  absence  of  seve- 
ral members  of  the  Board,  who  hud  formerly  been  constant  attendants,  and  had  taken  an 
active  part  in  its  proceedings.  This  allusion  had  reference  chiefly  to  the  parties  who  had 
made  themselves  prominent  in  opposing  the  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Catholic  bishops,  and 
wiio,  aince  the  triumphant  carrying  of  that  motion  in  aggregate  meeting,  had  btcluded 
themselves  in  high  dudgeon  at  their  well-merited  discomfiture. 

The  adoption  of  the  address,  which  had  been  altered,  as  agreed  upon,  at  the  preceding 
meeting,  and,  therefore,  while  highly  complimentary  to  Mr.  Grattan,  contained  nothing 
that  could  be  held  to  involve  any  species  of  tolerance  towards  the  "securities"  of  bib 
-  llelief "  Bill,  was  seconded  by  Mr.  O'ConnelL 

He  said,  that  in  seconding  this  address,  he  did  not  think  it 
necessary  to  take  up  one  moment  in  recommending  it  to  the 
Board.  He  relied  upon  its  being  carried  with  the  most  perfect 
unanimity ;  and  when  he  rose  to  second  it,  he  only  meant  to 
give  it  all  the  strength  which  his  individual  expression  of  the 
gratitude  due. by  Ireland  to  Mr.  Grattan  could  impart. 

No  man  in  the  communit}7  felt  more  sensibly  the  great  debt 
which  we  all  owe  to  Mr.  Grattan  than  he  did  ;  and  he  was  happy 
that  he  could  make  ample  acknowledgment  of  its  justice  and 
magnitude,  without  conceding  either  his  religion  or  the  steady 
principle  of  simple  repeal,  upon  which  alone  the  Catholics  were 
determined  to  stand.  The  clauses,  the  arrangements,  the  details, 
1  he  provisions,  the  enactments,  the  restrictions,  which  would  de- 
prive the  Irish  people  of  the  one,  and  which  were  totally  incon- 
sistent with  the  other,  were  not  of  Mr.  Grattan's  invention. 
These  subjects  were  not  now  touched  upon  with  any  retrospective 


T'ANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  237 

view.  The  address  speaks  prophetically.  It  tells  Mr.  Grattan 
that  he  has  always  had  the  hearts  of  the  Irish  people  and  that  in 
future  he  shall  have  their  full  judgments. 

It  was  immaterial  whether  their  petition  should  succeed  in 
the  next  session  or  not ;  the  cause  was  proceeding  with  a  rapid 
and  steady  pace,  gaining  daily  additional  strength  as  it  went 
along.  He  was  sorry  that  he  could  not  agree  with  his  most  re- 
spectable friend,  Mr.  M'Donnell,  in  any  part  of  the  late  bill.  It 
was  unnecessary,  after  the  very  powerful  manner  in  which  that 
gentleman  had  condemned  the  interference  with  the  clergy,  to 
say  anything  upon  that  part  of  the  bill ;  the  sentiments  ex- 
pressed by  Mr.  M'Donnell  were  only  those  of  the  public  in  gene- 
Til,  and  any  feeble  cry  that  has  been  attempted  to  be  raised  in 
Vvour  of  the  clauses,  only  made  the  expression  of  this  feeling 
.  he  more  marked.  But  he  was  bound  to  say,  that  none,  even  of 
.he  political  enactments  of  the  bill,  deserved  approbation. 

He  entreated  his  respected  friend  to  permit  tho  legal  men 
:>f  the  Board,  merely  as  barristers  (if  not  lawyers),  to  declare 
tl.eir  opinion  upon  it,  as  upon  matter  of  law.  And  this  opinion 
he  unrqui vocally  declared  was,  that  the  bill,  had  it  passed  into 
law,  would  have  been  totally  inefficient — would  have  done  no- 
thing. In  the  House  of  Commons  and  in  the  higher  ranks  of 
the  army,  some  trifling  benefit  might  have  accrued  from  it  to  a 
few  ambitious  Catholics,  but  in  respect  to  the  great  mass  of  the 
people,  they  would  have  gained  nothing  by  it.  Taxation  without 
representation,  and  the  numerous  other  crying  grievances  which 
they  endure,  would  have  been  left  wholly  unaffected  by  its  ope- 
ration. This  he  asserted  as  the  opinion  of  the  barristers  of  the 
Catholic  Board,  and  if  it  shall  be  contradicted  by  anything  like 
argument  in  the  public  papers,  he  pledged  himself  to  support 
the  assertion. 

Th:re  vas  now  upon  the  .able  an  abstract  of  the  bill,  which 
had  been  prepared  by  Mr.  Charles  Butler  for  the  emancipation 
of  the  Catholics  :  and  he  felt  himself  bound  to  say,  that  he  had 
never  rnet  anything  which  appeared  to  have  been  drawn  up  ic 
more  complete  ignorance  of  the  penal  laws  which  aggrieve  the 
Jutholics  of  Ireland,  and  that  if  it  had  passed  into  a  law,  it 
would  have  been  totally  useless.  Mr.  Butler  (he  said)  is  aii  ex- 
jjert  penman,  who  writes  a  great  deal,  and  if  he  shall  contradict 
'n  print  his  (Mr.  0'Conne.ll's)  assertion,  he  will,  for  the  infor 
ination  of  the  gentleman  and  the  public,  quote  the  statutes 
*mch  would  render  bis  bill  a  nullity. 

He  (Mr.  O'Connell)  spoke  this  that  the  people  might  knew 


238  SELECT   SPKEHES  OF 

that  bad  bills  had  been  prepared  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  inform- 
ing any  known  person  who  took  an  interest  in  the  affairs  of  tha 
Catholics,  that  if  a  bill  for  their  emancipation  was  wanted,  ami 
the  Board  were  to  be  called  upon  to  produce  one>  the  frame  of 
such  a  bill  was  ready,  and  should  be  instantly  produced. 


THE  SYNOD  OF  ULSTER. 

f  KB  pressure  of  prior  business  at  the  meeting  of  the  17th  of  July,  compelled  a  postpone- 
ment of  the  motion  of  Mr.  O'Connell,  relative  to  the  Presbyterian  Synod  of  Ulster.  Ou  the 
•ucceeding  Saturday,  he,  however,  brought  it  forward. 

He  said  he  had  to  call  on  the  Board  to  carry  out  their  inten- 
tion of  thanking  that  very  important  body,  the  Synod  of  Ulster, 
for  the  late  vote  of  the  members  composing  it,  in  favour  of  reli 
gious  liberty.  The  learned  gentleman  (say  the  reports  of  the 
Post  »nd  Freeman,}  prefaced  the  motion  by  a  speech  cf  some 
length,  and  delivered  it  with  his  wonted  eloquence.  Hs  touched 
upon  a  variety  of  topics,  having  reference  to  or  bearing  u  pon 
the  subject  matter  of  his  motion.  The  late  decision  of  the  Synod 
of  Ulster  he  considered  perfectly  unanimous,  for  the  eight  indi- 
viduals who  had  opposed,  have  since  that  time  declared,  that  in 
sentiment  and  feeling,  they  were  in  perfect  accordance  with  the 
majority. 

He  looked  upon  it  LS  one  of  the  most  important,  auspicious, 
and  gratifying  events  which  had  occured  for  a  considerable 
period.  Divisions  had  ever  been  the  ruin  of  Ireland  ;  they  yet 
pursued  and  scourged  her  -}  but  the  declaration  qf  the  Synod  of 
Ulster,  in  favour  of  religious  liberty,  was  an  earnest  ho  hoped, 
fjr  ^he  banishment  of  them  from  amongst  us  in  future.  It  was 
not  to  be  expected,  however,  that  an  evil,  which  had  not  only 
been  suffered  to  exist,  but  had  actually  been  encouraged,  and,  in 
consequence,  had  grown  to  a  melancholy  extent  indeed,  should 
ba  all  at  once  overcome. 

The  Synod  of  Ulster  had  done  their  part.  They  had  set.  a 
noble  example  ;  let  it  be  met  by  a  corresponding  spirit,  and  be 
imitatad  throughout  the  country. 

The  enemies  of  Ireland  having  had  long  experience  of  the 
efficacy  of  divisions  in  forwarding  their  purposes,  had  never  lost 
sight  of  promoting  them.  There  were  two  sorts  of  divisions, 
which  were  peculiarly  fatak  and  should  be  guarded  against  with 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  239 

the  utmost  care.  Oiae — the  lesser  kind — was,  divisions  amongst 
the  Catholics  themselves  ;  the  other — and  the  greater — was,  that 
which  would  separate  the  Presbyterian,  the  Quaker,  and  all  the 
other  numerous  classes  of  Dissenters  from  the  Catholics,  and 
from  each  other. 

With  respect  to  the  first  kind  of  division,  he  was  proud  to  say, 
that  the  great  body  of  the  Irish  Catholics  were  unanimous  in 
their  determination  to  knock  at  the  gate  of  the  temple  of  liberty, 
and  temperately,  but  firmly,  and  with  the  port  of  men,  demand 
admittance.  Knowing  this  to  be  the  spirit  which  animated  the 
body,  he  was  prepared  to  say,  that  if  any  Catholic,  no  matter 
what  were  his  rank  and  property,  seceded  from  them,  he  only 
made  an  outlaw  of  himself,  and  inflicted  no  injury  upon  the  cause. 

And  with  respect  to  the  second  kind  of  division,  the  declara- 
tion of  the  Synod  of  Ulster  was  a  gratifying  proof}  that  good- 
sense,  reason,  and  patriotism  were  beginning  to.  triumph  over 
the  distractions  which  had  so  long  disfigured  Ireland. 

It  was  with  pain  he  found  himself  compelled  to  say  that  many 
of  the  clergy  of  the  Established  Church  were  very  hostile  to  the 
just  claims  of  their  fellow-countrymen  and  fellow-Christians, 
who  sought  liberty  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
their  consciences.  This  was  particularly  observable  during  the 
late  elections.  Wheresoever  a  gentleman,  whose  principles  were 
tolerant,  appeared  as  a  candidate,  he  was  sure  to  be  encountered 
by  a  host  of  the  votes  of  the  clergy.  Dr.  St.  Lawrence  and 
that  galloping,  preaching  gentleman,  his  son,  were  proofs  of  this 
when,  at  Cork,  they  strenuously  opposed  Mr.  Hely  Hutchinson. 
It  was  true,  there  were  many  illustrious  exceptions  which  only 
proved  the  general  rule. 

It  was  gratifying,  however,  to  remark,  that  this  illiberality  was 
confined  to  the  clergy,  and  even  amongst  them  to,  the  beneficed 
:>nes.  The  laity — the  respectable  and  uninfluenced  laity  —were 
all  favourable  to  the  rights  of  their  fellow -men  and  fellow-sub- 
jects ;  but,  while  this  afforded  matter  for  warm  congratulation, 
it  was  impossible  to  avoid  regretting,  that  the  practice  of  the 
Established  clergy  should  be  so  widely  different  from  those,  doc- 
trines of  peace  and  charity  which  they  are  so  liberally  paid  for 
teaching.  He  was  willing  to  hope,  notwithstanding  all  that 
could  be  done,  their  efforts  and  the  efforts  of  those  who  set  them 
in  motion,  would  prove  ineffectual ;  that  every  odious  distinction 
would  be  obliterated  ;  and  that  every  man  in  this  country  would 
be  ambitious  for  one  title,  and  one  title  only,  that  of 
(Loud  cheering.) 


240  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

The  Synod  of  Ulster  talks  of  the  constitution.  He  perfectly 
agreed  with  the  Synod,  in  what  it  had  said  in  that  respect.  All 
he  required,  all  the  Catholics  required,  was  JSmanci/.  ation  to  the 
extent  of  the  constitution  ! — Emancipation  agreeable  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  revolution  I  Those  principles  were  plain,  indisput- 
able, and  well  understood — they  were  liberty  to  the  people  to 
rhoose  their  own  religion  and  their  governors.  The  Catholics 
merely  seek  religious  freedom.  The  revolutionists  changed  their 
king,  because  he  was  not  of  the  religion  of  the  people,  and  re- 
fused to  be  governed  by  any  person  who'  would  not  adopt  that 
religion.  The  Catholics,  however,  seek  no  such  change,  and  no- 
thing beyond  what  he  had  said. 

He  had  but  one  observation  more.  The  great  object  of  his 
life,  and  that  which  he  had  in  view  at  present,  was  to  defeat  and 
put  down  any  man  who  should  attempt  to  excite  discontent,  or 
disloyalty,  or  disunion  amongst  the  people.  Union  and  har- 
mony were  the  great  and  healing  balsams  which  he  wished  and 
uoped  to  see  applied  to  the  wounds  of  his  country. 


TRIAL  OF  JOHN  MAGEK. 

ON  Monday,  the  26th  of  July,  the  case  of  the  King  v  JJagee  was  again  called  on. 
Mr.  O'Connell  addressed  the  Court  at  its  sitting. 

TRIAL  OF  JOHN  MAGEE, 
Proprietor  of  the  Dublin  Evening  J'vsL  fur  a  libel  against  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Richmond 

King's  Bench,  July  26,  181& 

The  court  of  King's  Bench  was  yesterday  morning  crowded  at  an  early  hour,  by  the  inte 
nut  excited  in  this  case,  which  had  been  twice  postponed,  011  account  of  the  absence,  a,« 
the  affidavits  of  the  traverser  stated,  of  witnesses  material  to  his  defence.  The  Chief  Jus- 
tice entered  the  court  soon  after  eleven  o'clock,  and  the  Clerk  of  the  Crown  \\as  proceed- 
ing to  call  over  the  panel,  when  Mr.  O'Connell,  one  of  the  traverser's  counsel,  rose  and 
ipoke  as  follows  :— 

My  lord,  I  am  to  apply  to  your  lordship  to  postpone  this  trial 
to  the  first  nisi  prius  day  of  next  term,  in  consequence  of  the 
absence  of  two  witnesses  material  for  the  traverser's  defence ;  and 
1  can  undertake  to  state,  with  confidence,  that  if  your  lordship 
grant  this  application,  those  witnesses  will  be  in  attendance  at 
that  time  ;  my  application  is  grounded  on  three  affidavits,  and 
is  opposed  by  one  on  the  part  of  the  Grown,  by  which  I  find 
there  is  the  same  anxiety  to  try  Magee  in  the  absence  of  his  wit- 
nesses, as  prevailed  on  the  former  occasions  ;  in  the  affidavits  of 


PAN1KL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  241 

Mr.  Magee,  one  of  the  :28th  of  May,  and  the  other  of  the  5th  of 
July,  it  was  stated  that  Mr.  W.  Pole,  Sir  C.  Saxton,  and  Mr. 
Fitzgerald  were  important  witnesses  ;  the  latter  gentleman  is  in 
attends 'ice,  but  the  two  former  not  ;  and  if  the  Court  before 
agreed  to  postpone,  on  account  of  their  absence,  the  same  cause 
now  operates,  and  we  come  now  with  stronger  documents  than 
before  ;  "or  we  have  the  affidavit  of  service  of  two  subpoenas  ad 
testijicjndum,  and  the  affidavit  of  the  English  agent  will  be  pro- 
duced to  prove  he  transmitted  £30  British,  as  viaticums  for  Mr. 
Pole  and  Sir  Charles  Saxton. 

ALU  what  says  the  affidavit  of  the  Crown  Solicitor "?  Why 
that  a  letter  was  received  from  C.  Saxton,  stating  that  he  had 
not  received  his  viaticum.  How  frivolous  is  it  to  talk  of  .£15 
preventing  a  high-minded  gentleman  doing  justice  between  party 
and  party  ;  it  is  sworn  by  the  process-server  that  he  believes  it 
was  sent  to  the  lodging-house  in  which  Sir.  C.  Saxton  lived  and 
where  he  learned  that  Sir  Charles  had  set  off  for  Ireland  ;  the 
viaticum  would  have  been  personally  paid  if  there  had  been  per- 
sonal attend*  ice.  Mr.  Magee  further  swears  that  he  wil]  apply 
to  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  in  England,  for  attachments  ibr  not 
obeying  your  lordship's  process. 

Chief  Justice — That  attachment  issues  on  certificate  from  this  Court  that  a  viaticum 
was  tendered. 

Mr.  O'Connell. — The  only  certificate,  I  believe,  my  lord,  re- 
quired, is  a  certificate  of  non-attendance.  The  process-server 
was  informed  thai  iSii  Charles  had  set  out  for  Ireland,  and  if  his 
servant  told  a  falsehood,  why  should  Mr.  Magee  suffer  1  Mr. 
Kemmis  makes  affidavit  of  a  letter  from  Sir  Charles,  and  only 
presents  us  with  a  fragment  of  it ;  is  it  not  strange  he  did  not 
vrite  to  Mr.  Magee's  »gent  instead  of  the  agent  for  the  prococu- 
tion  ?  The  letter  is  written  not  to  the  person  who  wanted  his 
evidence,  bu*  to  the  person  that  did  not.  Mr.  Fitzgerald  did 
not  send  his  excuse,  but  wrote  to  the  agent  of  the  traverser. 
Were  we  to  hunt  all  over  England  for  Sir  Charles  to  give  him 
his  viaticum  personally  ?  We  have  the  letter  of  the  English 
agent  who  is  now  in  court,  whose  affidavit  will  be  sworn  before 
this  trial  shall  have  proceeded,  and  in  which'  he  states  that  he 
believes  the  viaticum  was  received.  Consider,  my  lord,  the  great 
severity  it  would  be  to  try  a  man  in  Ireland,  while  his  witness 
is  in  England. 

Mr.  W.  Pole,  it  is  true,  has  no  residence  in  Ireland,  although 
fore  presents  an  Irish  county,  and  I  am  sure  (said  Mr,  O'CotinelJ) 


ne  would  not  peddle  about  fifteen  pounds;  if  there  had  been  an} 
negligence  upon  the  part  of  the  traverser,  his  application  would 
conie  with  a  bad  grace,  but  he  has  done  everything  in  his  power 
to  induce  the  attendance  of  his  witnesses  ;  two  fresh  subpoenas 
hare  been  served  ;  and  I  should  hope  the  case  of  the  Chevalier 
D'Eon,  reported  in  Surrowes,  will  not  be  here  debated  ;  in  that 
case  the  witnesses  were  in  France,  and  no  chance  of  their  coming 
over;  but  the  obstacle  to  the  attendance  of  our  witnesses  is  now 
done  away  ;  they  were,  at  the  time  of  former  applications,  at- 
tending their  duty  in  parliament;  but  that  cause,  which,  I  allow 
a  legal  one,  is  now  done  away ;  up  to  Thursday  last*  their  absence 
is  accounted  for,  and  we  can  now  proceed  to  enforce  their  at- 
tendance, so  that  there  is  little  doubt  of  their  being  present  ou 
the  day  this  trial  will  stand  for,  if  your  lordship  grant  this  ap- 
plication. Being  now  in  possession  of  Sir  Charles-  Saxton's  last 
excuse,  the  non-receipt  of  the  viaticum,  that  shall  be  obviated, 
and  that  it  has  not  been  caused  by  the  default  of  Mr.  Magee,  Mr. 
Menzie's  affidavit  will  clearly  evince.  And  as  former  postpone- 
ments took  place  on  weaker  grounds,  I  should  hope  this  appli- 
cation will  be  allowed.  Mr.  Kemniis  cannot  say  he  believes  Mr. 
Magee  intends  to  escape  from  justice  ;  he  sets  out  a  letter  of  Sir 
C.  Saxton,  and  does  not  swear  that  he  believes  it ;  by  the  post- 
ponement, a  failure  of  justice  cannot  ensue,  but  great  injustice 
may  be  done  if  traverser  be  obliged  to  go  to  trial,  in  the  absence 
of  his  witnesses. 

Chief  Justice.— Do  you  consent  Mr.  Attorney -General  ? 

Attorney-General— By  ho  means,  my  lord;  two  of  the  persons  formerly  absent  arc  now 
present,  and  further  postponement  would  be  but  a  mockery  of  justice. 

Mr.  Wallace.— There  is  nothing  to  justify  the  expressions  of  a  mockery  of  justice;  this  if 
not  an  application  to  postpone  the  punishment,  but  one  to  the  discretion  of  the  Court  tv 
postpone  the  trial.  Mr.  Magee  may  be  guilty  of  the  libel,  but  until  proved  so.  he  is  to  be 
considered  innocent;  the  Crown  cannot  suffer  by  the  delay,  for  judgment  cannot  be  had 
Uil  next  term. 

Chief  Justice.— Let  me  see  the  affidavits. 

Mr.  Wallace. — I  am  glad  your  lordship  has  looked  Into  the  affidavits;  they  contain  the 
usual  ground  for  postponing  the  trial,  that  justice  cannot  be  done  if  the  trial  proceeded  in 
the  absence  of  traveler's  witnesses;  and  am  I  not  at  liberty  to  assume  that  Sir  C.  Saxton 
to  a  material  witness,  when  it  has  not  'oeeu  contravened  by  the  affidavit  on  the  other  side? 
It  would  be  miserable  special  pleading  to  say,  that  because  the  money  was  not  actually  pat 
into  Sir  C.  Saxton's  pocket,  although  lie  was  on  his  way  to  Ireland,  that,  therefore,  he  is 
justified  m  acting  as  if  no  viaticum  at  all  had  been  sent  to  him.  I  am  sorry  he  conceived 
a  viaticum  at  all  necessary.  Two  of  the  witnesses,  the  Attorney-General  states,  have  ar- 
rived, but  we  made  no  compromise  to  go  to  trial  in  the  absence  of  the  others.  I  shall  not 
trouble  your  lordship ut  greater  length;  but  the  cardinal  fact  in  our  case  ii,  we  havu  the 
best  grounded  hope  that  he  will  attend  on  the  day  we  have  applied  to  flx  the  trial  for 

Chief  Justice.— This  case  conies  before  me  like  any  other  cause  at  nifi  prius,  and  I  w'll 
M.L  in  il  as  I  would  o»  circuit.  The  Judge  caunot  say-I  will  not  try  it ;  let  the  yaw  prtweciit' 


DANIEL  UOONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P»  243 

inp  proceed  at  Li s  peril;  because  two  postponements  hav  liken  plaio  ucfore  the  Court, 
ib  It  to  be  argued  that,  therefore,  a  third  shall  ?  There  is  no  fact  either  stated  in  the  affi- 
davit or  by  counsel,  by  which  the  Court  can  judge  of  the  materiality  of  the  absent  wit- 
ness ;  one  of  them  says  he  would  have  attended  if  he  had  received  a  proper  viaticum ;  that 
which  is  spoken  of  would  not  be  sufficient  to  bring  persons  of  their  rank  half  way.  I  cannot 
consent  to  postpone  the  trial,  but  let  the  prosecutor  proceed  at  his  own  risk. 

it'..  Townsend  cited  the  case  of  the  King  against  Finney,  which  afterwards  went  to  the 
tv.  vlve  judges,  and  in  that  case  there  was  no  postponement 

Mr.  O'Connell — Mr.  Attorney- General  will  proceed,  if  he  please;  but  it  would  be  a  mock- 
ery /justice  to  consent  to  go  on  in  the  absence  of  our  witnesses. 

Attorney-General, — My  lord,  it  is  most  important  that  jurors  should  attend  when  sum- 
moned. 

Chief  Justice— They  have  been  called  on  £50  fines.  Here  a  long  delay  took  place  for 
•want  of  jurors. 

Mr.  O'Connell— I  am  desired  by  Mr.  Magee  to  state,  that  if  the  postponement  sliiill  be 
allowed,  proper  viaticums  shall  be  sent. 

Attorney-General — I  cannot  consent,  as  I  feel  confident  delay  is  the  only  object  in  view. 
Mr.  O'Connell — We  differ  in  opinion  with  Mr.  Magee ;  we  do  not  wish  to  appear  if  Cie 
trial  proceed,  but  we  yield  to  his  wish  that  we  should.    A  further  delay  took  place. 

Mr.  Finlay,  in  a  very  nervous  manner,  then  said— My  lord.  I  think  it  extremely  unrea- 
sonab'e,  since  they  won't  wait  for  our  witnesses,  that  we  should  wait  for  their  jury.  (A 
general  laugh.) 

iir.  Attorney- Gen  era! — My  lord,  there  are  but  eleven  jurors  in  attendance,  we,  therefore 
pray  a  tales ;  we  would,  however,  rather  have  the  panel,  if  your  lordship  will  wait  a  short 
time. 

Mr.  O'Conuell — My  lord,  I  am  to  pray  to  quash  the  panel.  This  is  a  trial  by  nisi  prrm 
and  yet  the  panel  is  different  from  the  nisi  prius  one ;  there  are  but  twenty-four  numeu. 
instead  of  thirty-six,  and  the  29th  of  Geo.  II.,  cap.  6,  includes  the  case  of  the  King  a^uhitt 
Magee,  as  well  as  other  trials  at  nisi  prim ;  the  third  section  enacts,  that  any  shenn"  or 
other  officer,  shall  annex  the  Christian  names,  «fcc.,  of  the  persons  returned,  who  shuil  be 
In  number  thirty-six,  and  that  they  shall  try  all  the  cases  at  nisi  prius ;  the  sherilf  has 
acre  returned  the  centre,  and  has  not  returned  thirty-six  names ;  twenty-four  only  being 
returned  ;  the  words  of  the  statute  are  express ;  the  only  doubt  is,  whether  criminal  case* 
are  included;  it  may  be  said  that  party  and  party  include  the  King;  the  third  section  is  a 
positive  enactment;  the  first  section  has  these  words,  "per  mtditatein  lingua,"  which  is 
only  applicable  to  criminal  cases,  as  there  is  no  such  thing  in  civil  cases. 

Chief  Justice— This  appears,  reading  the  statute,  to  apply  to  the  assizes. 

Mr.  O'Connell— And  nisi  prius  also 

Chief  Justice— I  don't  think  it  applies  to  the  city  of  Dublin. 

Mr.  O'Connell — Then  your  lordship  will  make  a  note  of  our  motion  to  quash  the  panel 
Now,  my  lord,  we  object  to  the  array ;  there  has  been  a  misdirection  of  the  venire ;  before 
the  statute  the  proceedings  were  by  distringas  alias,  and  plaries  distritigas;  the  vaiirt 
issued  in  this  case  has  been  returned,  and  remains  amongst  the  records  of  the  court.  There 
ire,  at  present,  two  venires.  The  Attorney  General  can  appoint  triers  to  try  the  fact. 

Attorney  General — They  allege  there  are  errors  on  the  record.  Your  lordship  is  not  sil- 
ting here  to  try  the  plea  roll,  but  the  issue  knit  between  the  parties.  If  there  be  error  on 
the  record,  a  writ  of  error  will  lie,  or  a  motion  may  be  made  to  arrest  the  judgment. 

Mr.  O'Connell— The  nisi  prius  roll  will  exhibit  the  ground  of  our  objection. 

Mr.  Wallace — We  could  have  no  opportunity  to  challenge  the  array,  if  we  did  not  know 
o/  the  second  panel. 

Chief  Justice — The  record  is  now  before  me,  and  I  do  not  see  the  second  venire. 

Mr.  Townsend— All  objections  to  the  array  are  against  the  officer  himself,  but  this  is  fw 
Itoe  C  ourt  above,  and  not  to  be  considered  as  nisi  ptius. 

Attorney-General — If  there  be  any  error  on  the  record,  this  is  not  the  place  to  amcnc.  ,t 

Jtt.  Wallace— We  contend  fox  it;  we  are  not  to  be  tried  by  the  second  jury 


L'44  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

The  Clerk  of  the  Crown  then  read  from  the  record,  the  objections  pnt  In  by  the  trover 
so.r's  counsel ;  they  were  put  in  as  pleas,  and  were •  substantially :  in  the  first  place,  that 
the  panel  was  returned  by  che  sheriffs,  under  the  denominations  (nominations)  of  the 
v  i LOIT  ey -General ;  that  the  panel  did  not  contain  truth  ;  and  that  a  diitringe  did  not  issue 
iio  the  first  vtnire.  The  Attorney -General  then,  ore  <emw,  joined  issue  on  the  first,  and 
•econd  plea,  and  demurred  to  the  third.  Triers  were  then  appointed— Messrs.  Hey  lam! 
and  Hamilton. 

WILLIAM  GOFF,  Esq.,  examined  by  Mr.  O'ConneiL 
X>  you  know  Joseph  Goff? 

I  Jo. 

Is  he  not  one  of  the  persons  returned  on  this  panel  ? 

1  believe  20  • 

Mr.  O'Conr.ell— My  lord,  we  are  going  to  prove  that  this  person,  not  having  any  other 
farour  to  ask  of  the  government,  expressed  a  wish  to  be  always  employed  as  a  juror  in 
cases  where  the  Crown  was  a  party ;  such  expressions  would  warrant  a  conclusion  that  hi* 
name  now  appeared  on  the  panel  in  consequence  of  his  own  wishes,  and  in  violation,  there- 
fore, of  the  impartiality  necessary  in  tne  formation  of  juries.  The  reason  why  we  did  not 
produce  the  person  himself,  is  upon  the  general  principle  that  no  man  is  bound  to  crimi 
nate  himself.  If  Crown  influence  be  proved,  it  will  affect  the  Attorney-General,  as  identi 
:ietl  with  the  officers  of  the  Crown. 

This  challenge  was,  after  some  discussion,  disallowed,  as  the  Court  would  not  admit  heur- 
w»y  evidence  on  the  point. 
The  following  wore  the  jury,  as  finally  swam. 

LeUuid  Crosthwaltu,  Martin  Keene, 

Thomas  Andrews,  Benjamin  .barley, 

Bladen  Swiney,  William  Watson, 

Richard  Palmnr,  William  Walsh, 

Thomas  Kochfort,  Ki?hard  Cooke, 

Alexander  Montgomery,  Edward  Clibborne. 

J4r.  Kemmls  then  opened  the  indictment,  and  the  Attorney-General  followed. 
The  nature  of  his  speech  will  be  readily  gathered  from  Mr.  O'Coiinell's  reply,  which  hat 
been  generally  considered  one  of  his  greatest  bar  efforts,  and  which  we  now  proceed  to 
give. 

It  was  on  Tuesday,  27th  July,  the  sacond  day  of  the  proceedings,  that  he  was  called  upon 
to  speak.  We  quote  the  ample  report  \A  :ho  Evening  J'ott. 

At  eleven  o'clock,  the  Chief  Justice  took  hi*  seat  in  the  court,  which  was  crowded  from 
an  early  hour,  public  expectation  being  much  excited  and  interested, with  respect  tc  the 
proceedings  and  iss  .e  of  the  day. 
Mr.  O'Connell  '-ose  and  spoke  as  fciilows  :— 

I  consented  to  the  adjournment  yesterday,  gentlemen  of  the 
jury,  from  that  impulse  of  nature  which  compels  us  to  postpone 
pain;  it  is,  indeed,  painful  to  me  to  address  you;  it  is  a  cheer- 
less, a  hopeles^  task  to  address  you — a  task  which  would  require 
all  the  animation  and  interest  to  be  derived  from  the  working 
of  a  mind  fully  fraught  with  the  resentment  and  disgust  created 
in  mine  yesterday,  by  that  farrago  of  helpless  absurdity  with 
which  Mr.  Attorney- General  regaled  you. 

But  I  am  now  not  sorry  for  the  delay.  Whatever  I  may  have 
lost  in  vivacity,  I  trust  I  shall  compensate  for  in  discretion. 
That  which  yesterday  excited  my  anger,  now  appears  to  roe  to 


D4.N1EL  O'COIfNEIAj,  ESQ.,  M.P.  245 

be  an  object  of  pity;  and  that  which  then  roused  my  indigna- 
tion, now  only  moves  to  contempt.  I  can  now  address  you  with 
feelings  softened,  and,  I  trust,  subdued;  and  I  do,  from  my  soul, 
declare,  that  I  now  cherish  no  other  sensations  than  those  which 
tnable  me  to  bestow  OR  the  Attorney-General  und  on  his  dis- 
course, pure  and  unmixed  compassion. 

It  was  a  discourse  in  which  you  could  not  discover  either 
order,  or  method,  or  eloquence;  it  contained  very  little  logic, 
and  no  poetry  at  all;  violent  and  virulent,  it  was  a  confused 
and  disjointed  tissue  of  bigotry,  amalgamated  with  congenial 
vulgarity.  He  accused  my  client  of  using  Billingsgate,  and  he 
ar.rr.used  him  of  it  in  language  suited  exclusively  for  that  meri- 
dian. He  descended  sven  to  the  calling  of  names :  he  called 
'his  young  gentleman  a  i(  malefactor,"  a  "Jacobin,"  and  a  "ruf- 
fian." gentlemen  of  the  jury;  he  called  him  " abominable,"  and 
"seditious,"  and  "revolutionary,"  and  "infamous,"  and  a  "ruf 
flan"  again,  gentlemen  of  the  jury;  he  called  him  a  "brothe" 
keeper,"  a  "pander,"  "a  kind  of  bawd  in  breeches,"  and  a  "ruf- 
fian" a  third  time,  gentlemen  of  the  jury. 

1  cannot  repress  my  astonishment,  how  Mr.  Attorney- General 
v-ould  have  preserved  this  dialect  in  its  native  purity;  he  has 
been  now  for  nearly  thirty  years  in  the  class  of  polished  society ; 
he  has.  for  some  years,  mixed  amongst  the  h^hest  orders  in  the 
state ;  he  has  had  the  honour  to  belong  for  thirty  years  to  the 
first  profession  in  the  world — to  the  only  profession,  with  the 
single  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  military,  to  which  a  high- 
minded  gentleman  could  condescend  to  belong — the  Irish  bar. 
To  that  bar,  at  which  he  has  seen  and  heard  a  Burgh  and  a 
Duquery ;  at  which  he  must  have  listened  to  a  Burston,  a  Pon- 
;onby,  and  a  Curran;  to  a  bar  which  still  contains  a  Plunket,  .'•. 
Ball,  and  despite  of  politics,  I  will  add,  a  Bushe.  With  this  ga- 
laxy of  glory,  flinging  their  light  around  him,  how  can  he  alone 
have  remained  in  darkness?  How  has  it  happened,  that  the 
twilight  murkiness  of  his  soul,  has  not  been  illumined  with  a 
single  ray  shot  from  their  lustre  I  Devoid  of  taste  and  of  ger.ius. 
how  can  he  have  had  memory  enough  to  preserve  this  origins)! 
vulgarity*  He  is,  indeed,  an  object  of  compassion,  and,  from 
my  inmost  soul,  I  bestow  on  him  my  forgiveness,  and  my  boun- 
teous pity. 

But  not  for  him  alone  should  compassion  be  felt,  ilecollect, 
that  upon  his  advice — that  with  him,  as  the  prime  mover  and 
instigator  of  those  rash,  and  silly,  find  irritating  measures,  of 
the  last  five  years  which  have  afflicted  and  distracted  this  lorn* 


246  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

suffering  country  have  originated — with  him  they  have  all  ori- 
ginated. Is  there  not  then  compassion  due  to  the  millions, 
whose  destinies  are  made  to  depend  upon  his  counsel?  Is  there 
no  pity  to  those  who,  like  me,  must  know  that  the  liberties  of  the 
tenderest  pledges  of  their  affections,  and  of  that  which  is  dearer 
still,  of  their  country,  depends  on  this  man's  advice  1 

Yet,  let  not  pity  for  us  be  unmixed ;  he  has  afforded  the  con- 
solation of  hope ;  his  harangue  has  been  heard ;  it  will  be  re- 
ported— I  trust  faithfully  reported ;  and  if  it  be  but  read  in 
England,  we  may  venture  to  hope  that  there  may  remain  just  so 
much  good  sense  in  England  as  to  induce  the  conviction  of  the 
folly  and  the  danger  of  conducting  the  government  of  a  brave 
and  long-enduring  people  by  the  counsels  of  so  tast<4ebo  and 
talentless  an  adviser. 

See  what  an  imitative  animal  man  is  \  The  sound  of  ruffian 
— ruffian — ruffian,  had  scarcely  died  on  the  Attorney-General's 
lips,  when  you  find  the  word  honoured  with  all  the  permanency 
of  print,  in  one  of  his  pensioned  and  well-paid,  but  ill-read  news- 
papers. Here  is  the  first  line  in  the  Dublin  Journal  of  thte 
day : — "  The  ruffian  who  writes  for  the  Freeman's  Journal.' 
Here  is  an  apt  scholar — he  profits  well  of  the  Attorney- General's 
tuition.  The  pupil  is  worthy  of  tne  master — the  master  is  just 
suited  to  the  pupil. 

I  now  dismiss  the  style  and  measure  of  the  Attorney- Gene- 
ral's discourse,  and  I  require  your  attention  to  its  matter.  That 
matter  I  must  divide,  although  with  him  there  was  no  division, 
into  two  unequal  portions.  The  first,  as  it  was  by  far  the  greater 
portion  of  his  discourse,  shall  be  that  which  was  altogether  inap- 
plicable to  the  purposes  of  this  prosecution.  The  second,  and 
infinitely  the  smaller  portion  of  his  speech,  is  that  which  related 
to  the  subject  matter  of  the  indictment  which  you  are  to  try. 
He  has  touched  upon  and  disfigured  a  great  variety  of  topics. 
I  shall  follow  him  at  my  good  leisure  through  them.  He  has 
invited  me  to  a  wide  field  of  discussion.  I  accept  his  challenge 
with  alacrity  and  with  pleasure. 

This  extraneous  part  of  his  discourse,  which  I  mean  first  to. 
discuss,  was  distinguished  by  two  leading  features.  The  first, 
consisted  of  a  dull  and  reproving  sermon,  with  which  he  treated 
my  colleagues  and  myself,  for  the  manner  in  which  we  thought 
fit  to  conduct  this  defence.  He  talked  of  the  melancholy  exhi- 
oition  of  four  hours  wasted,  as  he  said,  in  frivolous  debate,  and  he 
obscurely  hinted  at  something  like  incorrectness  of  professional 
conduct  He  has  not  ventured  to  speak  out,  but  I  will.  I  shall 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  247 

say  nothing  for  myself ;  but  for  my  colleagues — my  inferiors  in 
professional  standing,  but  infinitely  my  superiors  in  every  talent 
and  in  every  acquirement — my  colleagues,  whom  I  boast  as  my 
friends,  not  in  the  routine  language  of  the  bar,  but  in  the  sin- 
cerity of  my  esteem  and  affection  ;  for  my  learned  and  upright 
colleagues,  I  treat  the  unfounded  insinuation  with  the  most  con- 
temptuous scorn ! 

All  I  shall  expose  is  the  utter  inattention  to  the  fact,  which, 
in  small  things  as  in  great,  seems  to  mark  the  Attorney- General's 
Career.  He  talks  of  four  hours,  Why,  it  was  past  one  before 
the  last  of  you  were  digged  together  by  the  Sheriff,  and  the  At- 
torney-General rose  to  address  you  before  three.  How  he  could 
contrive  to  squeeze  four  hours  into  that  interval,  it  is  for  him  to 
explain  ;  nor  should  I  notice  it,  but  that  it  is  the  particular  pre- 
rogative of  dulness  to  be  accurate  in  the  detail  of  minor  facts,  ?,o 
that  the  Attorney- General  is  without  an  excuse,  when  he  departs 
from  them,  and  when  for  four  hours,  you  have  had  not  quite  two. 
Take  this  also  with  you,  that  we  assert  our  uncontrollable  right 
to  employ  them  as  we  have  done ;  and  as  to  his  advice,  we  nei- 
ther respect,  nor  will  we  receive  it ;  but  we  can  afford  cheerfully 
to  pardon  the  vain  presumption  that  made  him  offer  us  counsel. 

For  the  rest,  he  may  be  assured  that  we  will  never  imitate  his 
example.  We  will  never  volunteer  to  mingle  our  politics,  what- 
ever they  may  be,  with  our  forensic  duties.  I  made  this  the 
rigid  rule  of  my  professional  conduct ;  and  if  I  shall  appear  to 
depart  from  this  rule  now,  I  bid  you  recollect  that  I  am  com- 
pelled to  follow  the  Attorney-General  into  grounds  which,  if  he 
had  been  wise,  he  would  have  avoided. 

Yes ;  I  am  compelled  to  follow  him  into  the  discussion  of  his 
conduct  towards  the  Catholics.  He  has  poured  out  the  full  vial 
of  his  own  praise  on  that  conduct — praise  in  which,  I  can  safely 
assure  him,  he  has  not  a  single  unpaid  rival.  It  is  a  topic  upon 
which  no  unbribed  man,  except  himself,  dwells.  I  admit  the  dis- 
interestedness with  which  he  praises  himself,  and  I  do  not  envy 
him  his  delight,  but  he  ought  to  know,  if  he  sees  or  hears  a  word  of 
that  kind  from  any  other  man,  that  that  man  receives  or  expects 
compensation  for  his  task,  and  really  deserves  money  for  his  la- 
bour and  invention. 

My  lord,  upon  the  Catholic  subject,  T  commence  with  one  as- 
sertion of  the  Attorney- General,  which  I  trust  1  misunderstood. 
He  talked,  as  I  collected  him,  of  the  Catholics  having  imbibed 
principles  of  a  seditious,  treasonable,  and  revolutionary  nature  ! 
He  seemed  to  me,  most  distinctly,  to  charge  us  with  treason  ! 


248  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

There  is  no  relying  on  his  words  for  his  meaning — I  know 
is  not.  On  a  former  occasion,  I  took  down  a  repetition  of  this 
charge  full  seventeen  times  on  my  brief,  and  yet,  afterwards,  it 
turned  out  that  he  never  intended  to  make  any  such  chai-ge  : 
that  he  forgot  he  had  ever  used  those  words,  and  he  disclaimed 
the  idea  they  naturally  convey.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  upon 
this  subject  he  knows  not  what  he  says  ;  and  that  these  phrases 
•are  the  mere  flowers  of  his  rhetoric,  but  quite  innocent  of  any 
meaning  ! 

Upon  this  account  I  pass  him  by,  I  go  beyond  him,  and  I  con- 
tent myself  with  pir claiming  those  charges,  whosoever  may  make 
them,  to  be  false  and  base  calumnies !  It  is  impossible  to  refute 
such  charges  in  the  language  of  dignity  or  temper.  But  if  any 
»  man  dares  to  charge  the  Catholic  body,  or  the  Catholic  Board,  or 
any  individuals  of  that  Board  with  sedition  or  treason,  I  do  here, 
I  shall  always  in  this  court,  in  the  city,  in  the  field,  brand  him 
as  an  infamous  and  profligate  liar  f 

Pardon  the  phrase,  but  there  is  no  other  suitable  to  the  occa- 
sion. But  he  is  a  profligate  liar  who  so  asserts,  because  he  mu^t 
know  that  the  whole  tenor  of  our  conduct  confutes  the  assertion. 
What  is  it  we  seek  ? 

Chief  Justice— What,  Mr.  O'Connell,  can  this  have  to  do  with  the  question  which  the 
jury  are  to  try  ? 

Mr.  O'Conneil. — You  heard  the  Attorney-General  traduce  and 
calumniate  us— you  heard  him  with  patience  and  with  temper — 
listen  now  to  our  vindication  I 

I  ask,  what  is  it  we  seek  ?  What  is  it  we  incessantly  and,  if 
you  please,  clamorously  petition  for  ?  Why,  to  be  allowed  to 
partake  of  the  advantages  of  the  constitution.  We  are  earne  jtly 
anxious  to  share  the  benefits  of  the  constitution.  We  look  to 
the  participation  in  the  constitution  as  our  greatest  political 
blessing.  If  we  desired  to  destroy  it,  would  we  seek  to  share  it? 
If  we  wished  to  overturn  it,  would  we  exert  ourselves  through 
calumny, and  in  peril,  to  obtain  a  portion  ot'its  blessings?  Strange 
inconsistent  voice  of  calumny !  You  charge  us  with  intemperance 
in  cur  exertions  for  a  participation  in  the  constitution,  and  you 
charge  us  at  the  same  time,  almost  in  the  same  sentence,  with  a 
.lesign  to  overturn  that  constitution.  The  dupes  of  your  hypo- 
crisy may  believe  you  ;  but  base  calumniators,  you  do  not,  you 
cannot  believe  yourselves  ! 

The  Attorney-General — "this  wisest  and  best  of  men"  as  his 
colleague,  the  Solicitor-General,  called  him  in  his  presence—  the 


,,  MQ.,  M.P.  24  i) 

Attorney-General  next  boaster  of  his  triumph  ever  Pope  and 
Popery — "  I  put  down  the  Catholic  Committee  ;  I  will  put  down, 
at  my  good  time,  the  Catholic  Board."  This  boast  is  partly  his- 
torical, partly  prophetical.  He  was  wrong  in  his  history — lie  is 
quite  mistaken  in  his  prophecy.  He  did  not  put  down  the  Ca- 
tholic Committee — we  gave  up  that  name  the  moment  that  it 
was  confessedly  avowed,  that  this  sapient  Attorney- General's  po 
lemica-legal  controversy  dwindle. I  into  a  mere  dispute  about 
words.  He  told  us  th.it  in  tha  English  language  "pretence" 
means  purpose  ;"  had  it  been  French  and  not  English,  we  might 
have  been  inclined  to  respect  his  judgment,  but  in  p  oint  of  Eng- 
lish we  venture  to  differ  with  him;  we  told  him  •'  purpose,"  good 
Mr.  Attorney- General,  is  just  the  reverse  of  "pretence."  The 
quarrel  grew  warm  and  animated  ;  wa  appealed  to  common  sense, 
to  the  grammar,  and  to  the  dictionary  ;  common  sense,  grammar, 
and  the  dictionary  decided  in  our  favour.  He  brought  his  ap- 
peal to  this  court,  your  lordship,  and  your  brethren,  unanimous]  y 
decided  that,  in  point  of  of  law — mark,  mark,  gentlemen  of  the 
jury,  the  sublime  wisdom  of  law — the  court  decided  that,  in  point 
of  law,  "pretence'''  docs  mean  "purpose  !" 

1"  utly  contented  with  t.his  very  reasonable  and  more  satisfactory 
decision,  there  still  remained  a  matter  of  fact  between  us  :  the 
Attorney-General  charged  ns  with  being  representatives;  we  de- 
nied all  representation.  He  had  two  witnesses  to  prove  the  fact 
Tor  him  ;  they  swore  to  it  one  way  at  one  trial,  and  directly  the 
r  ther  way  at  the  next.  A  a  honourable,  intelligent,  and  enlight- 
ened jury  disbelieved  those  witnesses  at  the  first  trial — matters 
were  better  managed  at  the  second  trial — the  jury  were  better 
ir ranged.  I  speak  delicately,  gentlemen  ;  the  jury  were  better 
.vrran&e,J,  as  the  witnesses  were  better  informed ;  and,  accordingly, 
there  was  one  verdict  for  us  on  the  representative  question,  and 
one  verdict  against  us. 

You  know  the  jury  that  found  for  us  ;  you  know  that  it  was 
Sir  Charles  Saxton's  Castle-list  jury  that  found  against  us.  Well, 
the  consequence  was,  that,  thus  encouraged,  Mr.  Attorney-Geiie- 
tal  proceeded  to  force.  We  abhorred  tumult,  and  were  weary  o* 
litigation  ;  we  new-modelled  the  agents  and  managers  of  the  Ca- 
tholic petitions ;  we  formed  an  assembly,  respecting  which  there 
e«.mld  not  be  a  shadow  of  pretext  for  calling  it  a  representative 
body.  We  disclaimed  representation  ;  and  we  rendered  it  im- 
possible, even  for  the  virulence  of  the  most  malignant  law-ofS- 
cer  living,  to  employ  the  Convention  Act  against  us — that,  even 
upon  th«  Attorney-General's  own  construction,  requires  repreaen- 

R 


250  SELECT  SPEECHES 


as  an  ingredient  in  the  offence  it  prohibits.  He  cannot 
possibly  call  us  representatives  ;  we  are  the  individual  servants 
of  the  public,  whose  business  we  do  gratuitously  bat  zealously. 
Our  cause  has  advanced  even  from  his  persecution  —  and  this  he 
culls  putting  down  the  Catholic  Committee  ! 

Next,  he  glorifies  himself  in  his  prospect  of  putting  down  the 
CathoHc  Board.  For  the  present,  he,  indeed,  tells  you,  that 
much  as  he  hates  the  Papists,  it  is  unnecessary  for  him  to  crush 
our  P'>ard,  because  we  injure  our  own  cause  so  much.  He  says 
that  \V3  are  very  criminal,  but  we  are  so  foolish  that  our  folly 
serves  as  a  compensation  for  our  wickedness.  We  are  very 
wicked  and  very  mischievous,  but  then  we  are  such  foolish  little 
criminals,  that  we  deserve  his  indulgence.  Thus  he  tolerates 
•{fences.  because  of  their  being  committed  sillily  ;  and,  indeed, 
we  give  him  so  much  pleasure  and  gratification  by  the  injury  we 
do  our  own  cause,  that  he  is  spared  the  superfluous  labour  of  im- 
peding ^ur  petition  by  his  prosecutions,  fines,  or  imprisonments. 

He  expresses  the  very  idea  of  the  Roman  Domitian,  of  whom 
*ome  of  you  possibly  may  have  read  ;  b?  amused  his  days  in  tor- 
turing men  —  his  evenings  he  relaxed  in  the  humble  cruelty  of 
impaling  flies.  A  courtier  caught  a  fly  for  his  imperial  amuse- 
ment —  "Fool,"  said  the  emperor,  "fool,  to  give  thyself  the  trouble 
of  torturing  an  animal  that  was  about  to  burn  itself  to  death  in 
the  candle  !"  Such  is  the  spirit  of  the  Attorney-General's  com- 
mentary on  our  Board.  Oh,  rare  Attorney-  General  !  —  Oh,  best 
and  wisest  of  men  !  !  ! 

But,  to  be  serious.  Let  me  pledge  myself  to  you  that  he  im- 
poses on  you,  when  he  threatens  to  crush  the  Catholic  Board. 
*1  legal  violence  may  do  it  —  force  may  effectuate  it;  but  your 
hopes  and  his  will  be  defeated,  if  he  attempts  it  by  any  course 
jf  law.  I  am,  if  not  a  lawyer,  at  least,  a  barrister.  On  this 
.object  I  ought  to  know  something,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  con- 
tr:i%ct  the  Attorney-General  on  this  point,  and  to  proclaim  to 
you  and  to  the  country  that  the  Catholic  Board  is  perfectly  a 
legal  assembly  —  that  it  not  only  does  not  violate  the  law,  but 
that  it  is  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  law,  and  in  the  very 
proudest  tone  of  firmness,  I  hurl  defiance  at  the  Attorney- 
General  ! 

I  defy  him  to  allege  a  law  or  a  statute,  or  even  a  proclamation 
that  is  violated  by  the  Catholic  Board.  No,  gentlemen,  no  ;  his 
religious  prejudices  —  if  the  a'./sence  of  every  charity  can  be 
called  anything  religious  —  \\\s  religious  prejudices  really  obscure 
e.is  reason,  his  bigoted  intolerance  has  totally  darkened  hi&  un- 


DANIEL  O'COKNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  25 1 

Aerstanding,  and  he  mistakes  the  plainest  facts  and  misquotes 
the  clearest  law,  in  the  ardour  and  vehemence  of  his  rancour. 
1  disdain  his  moderation — I  scorn  his  forbearance — I  tell  him  he 
jmows  not  the  law  if  he  thinks  as  he  says ;  and  if  he  thinks  so, 
I  tell  him  to  his  beard,  that  he  is  not  honest  in  not  having  sooner 
prosecuted  us,  and  I  challenge  him  to  that  prosecution. 

It  is  strange — it  is  melancholy,  to  reflect  on  the  miserable  and 
mistaken  pride  that  must  innate  him  to  £alk  as  he  does  of  the 
Catholic  Board.  The  Catholic  Board  is  composed  of  men — I 
include  not  myself — of  course,  I  always  except  myself — every 
way  his  superiors,  in  birth,  in  fortune,  in  talents,  in  rank.  What ! 
is  he  to  talk  of  the  Catholic  Board  lightly  1  At  their  head  is 
the  Earl  of  Fingal,  a  nobleman  whose  exalted  rank  stoops  be- 
neath the  superior  station  of  his  virtues-— whom  even  the  venal 
minions  of  j^ower  must  respect.  We  are  engaged,  patiently  and 
perseveringly  engaged,  in  a  struggle  through  the  open  channels 
of  the  constitution  for  our  liberties.  The  son  of  the  ancient 
earl  whom  I  have  mentioned  cannot  in  his  native  land  attain  any 
honourable  distinction  of  the  state,  and  yet  Mr.  Attorney- Gene 
ral  knows  that  they  are  open  to  every  son  of  every  bigoted  ana 
intemperate  stranger  chat  may  settle  amongst  us. 

But  this  system  cannot  last ;  he  may  insult,  he  may  calumv 
niate,  he  may  prosecute ;  but  the  Catholic  cause  is  on  its  ma- 
'estic  march  ;  its  progress  is  rapid  and  obvious ;  it  is  cheered  in 
its  advance,  and  aided  by  all  that  is  dignified  and  dispassionate 
— by  everything  that  is  patriotic — by  all  the  honour,  all  the 
integrity  of  the  empire  ;  and  its  success  is  just  as  certain  as  the 
return  of  to-morrow's  sun,  and  the  close  of  to-morrow's  eve. 

"  We  will — we  must  soon  be  emancipated,  in  despite  of  the 
Attorney-  General,  aided  as  he  is  by  his  august  allies,  the  alder- 
men of  Skinner's-alley.  In  despite  of  the  Attorney- General 
and  the  aldermen  of  Skinner's-alley,  our  emancipation  is  certain, 
and  not  distant. 

I  have  no  difficulty  in  perceiving  the  motive  of  the  Attorney- 
General,  in  devoting  so  much  of  his  medley  oration  to  the 
Catholic  question,  and  to  the  expression  of  his  bitter  hatred  to 
us,  and  of  his  determination  to  ruin  our  hopes.  It  had,  to  be 
sure,  no  connection  with  the  cause,  but  it  had  a  direct  and  natural 
connection  with  you.  He  has  been,  all  his  life,  reckoned  a  man 
of  consummate  cunning  and  dexterity ;  and  whilst  one  wonders 
that  he  has  so  much  exposed  himself  upon  those  prosecutions, 
uiid  accounts  for  it  by  the  proverbial  blindness  of  religious  zeal, 
it  is  still  easy  to  discover  much  of  his  native  cunning  and  dex- 


252  SELECT  SFEfcOHES  OF 

terity.  Gentlemen,  he  thinks  he  knows  his  men — he  knows 
you  ;  many  of  you  signed  the  no- Popery  petition ;  he  heard  one 
of  you  boast  of  it ;  he  knows  you  would  not  have  been  sum- 
moned on  this  jury,  if  you  had  entertained  liberal  sentiments ; 
he  knows  all  this,  and,  therefore,  it  is  that  he,  with  the  artifice 
and  cunning  of  an  experienced  nisi  prius  advocate,  endeavours 
to  win  your  confidence,  and  command  your  affections  by  the 
display  of  his  congenial  illiberality  and  bigotry. 

You  are  all,  of  cou"rse,  Protestants ;  see  what  a  compliment  he 
pays  to  your  religion  and  his  own,  when  he  endeavours  thus  to 
procure  i  verdict  on  your  oaths ;  when  he  endeavours  to  seduce 
you  to  what,  if  you  were  so  seduced,  would  be  perjury,  by  in- 
dulging your  prejudices,  and  flattering  you  by  the  coincidence 
of  his  sentiments  and  wishes.  Will  he  succeed,  gentlemen? 
Will  you  allow  him  to  draw  you  into  a  perjury  out  of  zeal  for 
your  religion?  And  will  you  violate  the  pledge  y6u  have  given 
to  your  God  to  do  justice,  in  order  to  gratify  your  anxiety  for  the 
ascendancy  of  what  you  believe  to  be  his  church?  Gentlemen, 
reflect  on  the  strange  and  monstrous  inconsistency  of  this  con- 
duct, and  do  not  commit,  if  you  can  avoid  it,  the  pious  crime  of 
violating  your  solemn  oaths,  in  aid  of  the  pious  designs  of  the 
Attorney- General  against  Popery. 

Oh,  gentlemen !  it  is  not  in  any  lightness  of  heart  I  thus  ad- 
dress you — it  is  ratner  in  bitterness  and  sorrow;  you  did  not 
expect  flattery  from  me,  and  my  client  was  little  disposed  to 
offer  it  to  you ;  besides,  of  what  avail  would  it  be  to  flatter,  if 
you  came  here  pre-determined,  and  it  is  too  plain  that  you  are 
not  selected  for  this  jury  from  any  notion  of  your  impartiality  ? 

But  when  I  talk  to  you  of  your  oaths  and  of  your  religion,  I 
would  full  fain  I  could  impress  you  with  a  respect  for  both  the 
one  and  the  other.  I,  who  do  not  flatter,  tell  you,  that  though 
I  do  not  join  with  you  in  belief,  I  have  the  most  unfeigned  re- 
spect for  the  form  of  Christian  faith  which  you  profess.  Would 
that  its  substance,  not  its  forms  and  temporal  advantages,  were 
deeply  impressed  on  your  minds!  then  should  I  not  address  you 
in  the  cheerless  and  hopeless  despondency  that  crowds  on  my 
mind,  and  drives  me  to  taunt  you  with  the  air  of  ridicule  I  do. 
Gentlemen,  I  sincerely  respect  and  venerate  your  religion,  but  I 
despise  and  I  now  apprehend  your  prejudices,  in  the  same  pro- 
portion as  the  Attorney- General  has  cultivated  them.  In  plain 
truth,  every  religion  is  good — every  religion  is  true  to  him  who, 
in  his  due  caution  and  •onscience,  believes  it.  There  is  but  one 
bad  religion,  that  of  a  tin  who  professes  a  faith  which  he  does 


DANIEL  OOONNELLj  ESQ.,  M.P.  25^ 

not  believe ;  but  the  good  religion  may  be,  and  often  is,  cor- 
rupted by  the  wretched  and  wicked  prejudices  which  admit  a 
difference  of  opinion  as  a  cause  of  hatred. 

The  Attorney- General,  defective  in  argument — weak  in  hit 
cause,  has  artfully  roused  your  prejudices  at  his  side.  I  have; 
on  the  contrary,  met  your  prejudices  boldly.  If  your  verdict 
shall  be  for  me,  you  will  be  certain  that  it  has  been  produced 
by  nothing  but  unwilling  conviction  resulting  from  sober  and 
satisfied  judgment.  If  your  verdict  be  bestowed  upon  the  arti- 
fices of  the  Attorney-General,  you  may  happen  to  be  right ;  but 
do  you  not  see  the  danger  of  its  being  produced  by  an  admixture 
of  passion  and  prejudice  with  your  reason?  How  difficult  is  it 
to  separate  prejudice  from  reason,  when  they  run  in  the  same 
direction.  If  you  be  men  of  conscience,  then  I  call  on  you  to 
listen  to  me,  that  your  consciences  may  be  safe,  and  your  reason 
alone  be  the  guardian  of  your  oath,  and  the  sole  monitor  of  your 
decision. 

I  now  bring  you  to  the  immediate  subject  of  this  indictment. 
Mr.  Magee  is  charged  with  publishing  a  libel  in  his  paper  called 
the  Dublin  Evening  Post.  His  lordship  has  decided  that  there 
is  legal  proof  of  the  publication,  and  I  would  be  sorry  you  thought 
of  acquitting  Mr.  Magee  under  the  pretence  of  not  believing  that 
evidence.  I  will  not,  therefore,  trouble  you  on  that  part  of  the 
case ;  I  will  tell  you,  gentlemen,  presently,  what  this  publication 
is ;  but  suffer  me  first  to  inform  you  what  it  is  not — for  this  1 
consider  to  be  very  important  to  the  strong,  and  in  truth,  trium- 
phant defence  which  my  client  has  to  this  indictment. 

Gentlemen,  this  is  not  a  libel  on  Charles  Lennox,  Duke  of 
Richmond,  in  his  private  or  individual  capacity.  It  does  not 
interfere  with  the  privacy  of  his  domestic  life.  It  is  free  from 
any  reproach  upon  his  domestic  habits  or  conduct ;  it  is  perfectly 
pure  from  any  attempt  to  traduce  his  personal  honour  or  inte* 
grity.  Towards  the  man,  there  is  not  the  least  taint  of  malig- 
nity ;  nay,  the  thing  is  still  stronger.  Of  Charles  Duke  of  Ricb 
mond,  personally,  and  as  disconnected  with  the  administration 
of  public  affairs,  it  speaks  in  terms  of  civility  and  even  respect. 
It  contains  this  passage  which  I  read  from  the  indictment : — 

"  Had  he  remained  what  he  first  came  over,  or  what  he  after- 
wards professed  to  be,  he  would  have  retained  his  reputation  for 
honest  open  hostility,  defending  his  political  principles  with  firm- 
ness, perhaps  with  warmth,  but  without  rancour;  the  supporter 
and  not  the  tool  of  an  administration  ;  a  mistaken  politician, 
perhaps,  but  an  honourable  man  and  a  respectable  soldier." 


254  SBLBUTT  SPEECHES  OF 

The  Duke  is  here  in  this  libel,  my  lords— in  this  libel,  gentle 
men  of  the  jury,  the  Duke  of  Richmond  is  called  an  honourabl 

tt  and  a  respectable  soldier!  Could  more  flattering  expres- 
sTons  be  invented!  Has  the  most  mercenary  Press  that  ever 
vet  existed,  the  mercenary  Press  of  this  metropolis,  contained 
in  return  for  all  the  money  it  has  received,  any  praise  which 
ought  to  be  so  pleasing— "an  honourable  man  and  a  reaped 
able  soldier  T  I  do,  therefore,  beg  of  you,  gentlemen,  us  yov 
value  your  honesty,  to  carry  with  you  in  your  distinct  recollec- 
tion, this  fact,  that  whatever  of  evil  this  publication  may  con- 
tain,  it  does  not  involve  any  reproach  against ithe  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond IL  any  other  than  in  his  public  and  official  character 

I  have,  gentlemen,  next  to  require  you  to  take  notice,  that 
this  publication  is  not  indicted  as  a  seditious  libel.  The  word 
seditious  is,  indeed,  used  as  a  kind  of  make-weight  m  the  intro- 
ductory part  of  the  indictment.  But  mark,  ana  recollect,  that 
this  is  not  an  indictment  for  sedition.  It  is  not  then,  for  pri- 
vate slander,  nor  for  any  offence  against  the  constitution,  that 
Mr  Magee  now  stands  arraigned  before  you. 

In  the  third  place,  gentlemen,  there  is  this  singular  feature  m 
this  case,  namely-that  this  libel,  as  the  prosecutor  calls  it,  is 
not  charged  in  this  indictment  to  be  "  false. 

The  indictment  has  this  singular  difference  from  any  other 
Aave  ever  seen,  that  the  assertions  of  the  publications  are  not  even 

^Tty'have^ot'had  the  courtesy  to  you,  to  state  upon  record, 
that  these  charges,  such  as  they  are,  were  contrary  to  the  i 
This  I  believe  to  be  the  first  instance  in  which  the  allegation  of 
falsehood  has  been  omitted.  To  what  is  this  omission  to  be  at- 
tributed? Is  it  that  an  experiment  is  to  be .mode,  how  much 
further  the  doctrine  of  the  criminality  of  truth  can  be  drawn? 
Does  the  prosecutor  wish  to  make  another  bad  precedent?  or  is 
Tin  contempt  of  any  distinction  between  truth  and  falsehood 
th£  this  charge  is  thus  framed  ;  or  does  he  fear  that  you  would 
scruple  to  convict,  if  the  indictment  charged  that  to  be  false,  whicl 

y0Howevenh!a°t  mayTe,  I  will  have  you  to  remember  that  you 
are  now  to  pronounce  upon  a  publication,  the  truth  of  which  is  nol 
introverted.  Attend  to  the  case,  and  you  will  find  you  are  not 
to  try  Mr.  Ma?ee  for  sedition  which  may  endanger  the  state,  or 
for  private  defamation  which  m-vy  press  sorely  upon  the  heart 
,.d  blast  the  prospects  o  uprise  amily;  and  tha  the  subject 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  W.P.  255 

matter  for  your  decision  Is  not  characterized  as  false,  or  described 
as  untrue. 

Such  are  the  circumstances  which  accompany  this  publication, 
on  which  you  are  to  pronounce  a  verdict  of  guilt  or  innocence! 
.  me  case  is  with  you ;  it  belongs  to  you  exclusively  to  decide  it. 
His  lorship  may  advise,  but  he  cannot  control  your  decision,  and 
it  belongs  to  you  atone  to  say  whether  or  not,  upon  the  entire 
matter,  you  conceive  it  to  be  evidence  of  guilt,  and  deserving  of 
punishment.  The  statute  law  gives  or  recognises  this  your  right, 
and,  therefore,  imposes  this  on  you  as  your  duty.  "The  legis- 
lative has  precluded  any  lawyer  from  being  able  to  dictateYe 
you.  The  Solicitor-General  cannot  now  venture  to  promulgate 
the  slavish  doctrine  which  he  addressed  to  Doctor  Sheridan's 
jury,  when  he  told  them,  «  not  to  presume  to  differ  from  the 
Court  in  matter  of  law."  The  law  and  the  fact  are  lieie  the  same, 
namely— the  guilty  or  innocent  design  of  the  publication. 

Indeed,  in  any  criminal  case,  the  doctrine  of  the  Solicitor- 
General  is  intolerable.  1  enter  my  solemn  protest  against  it. 
I  he  verdict  which  is  required  from  a  jury  in  any  criminal  case 
has  nothing  special  in  it— it  is  not  the  finding  of  the  fact  in  the 
amrmative  or  negative— it  is  not,  as  in  Scotland,  that  the  charge 
is  proved  or  not  proved.  No  ;  the  jury  is  to  say  whether  the 
prisoner  be  guilty  or  not;  and  could  a  juror  find  a  true  verdict, 
who  declared  a  man  guilty  upon  evidence  of  some  act,  perhaps 
praiseworthy,  but  clearly  void  of  evil  design  or  bad  consequences! 
I  do,  therefore,  deny  the  doctrine  of  the  learned  gentleman  : 
it  is  not  constitutional,  and  it  would  be  frightful  if  it  wore. 
.^o  judge  can  dictate  to  a  jury— no  jury  ought  to  allow  itself  to 
be  dictated  to. 

If  the  Solicitor-General's  doctrine  were  established,  see  what 
oppiessive  consequences  might  result,  At  some  future  period 
some  man  may  attain  the  first  place  on  the  bench,  by  the  repu- 
tation which  is  so  easily  acquired  by  a  certain  degree  of  church- 
wardenmg  piety,  added  to  a  great  gravity,  and  maidenly  deco- 
rum of  manners.  Such  a  man  may  reach  the  bench— for  I  am 
putting  a  mere  imaginary  case— HE  may  be  a  man  without  PAS- 
MONS,  and  THEREFORE  without  VICES;  he  may,  my  lord 
be  a  man  superfluously  RICH,  and,  therefore,  not  to  be  BRIBED 
with  MONEY,  but  rendered  PARTIAL  by  his  BIGOTRY  and 
CORRUPTED  by  his  PREJUDICES;  such  a  man,  INFLATED 
by  FLATTERY,  and  BLOATED  in  his  dignity,  may  hereafter 
uso  that  character  for  SANCTITY  which  has  served  to  promote 
ruin,  as  a  sword,  to  hew  dcwn  the  struggling  hbprties  of  his 


12A'6  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

country  ;  such  a  judge  may  interfere  before  trial  !  and  at  the 
trial  be  a  PARTISAN  ! 

Gentlemen,  should  an  honest  jury — could  an  honest  jury  \il 
uii  honest  jury  were  again  found)  listen  with  safety  to  the  dic- 
tates of  such  a  judge  ?  I  repeat  it,  therefore,  that  the  Solicitor- 
General  is  mistaken — that  the  law  does  not,  and  cannot,  require 
such  a  submission  as  he  preached  ;  and  at  all  event  s,  gentlemec, 
it  cannot  be  controverted,  that  in  the  present  instance,  that  of  an 
alleged  libel,  the  decision  of  all  law  and  fact  belongs  to  you. 

I  am  then  warranted  in  directing  to  you  some  observations  on 
the  law  of  libel,  and  in  doing  so,  1  disclaim  any  apology  for  the 
consumption  of  the  time  necessary  for  my  purpose.  Gentlemen, 
my  intention  is  to  lay  before  you  a  short  and  rapid  view  of  the 
causes  which  have  introduced  into  courts  the  monstrous  assertion 
— that,  truth  is  crime  I 

It  is  to  be  deeply  lamented,  that  the  art  of  printing  was  un- 
known at  the  earlier  periods  of  our  history.  If,  at  the  time  the 
barons  wrung  the  simple  but  sublime  charter  of  liberty  from  a 
timid,  perfidious  sovereign,  from  a  violator  of  his  word,  from 
a  man  covered  with  disgrace,  and  sunk  in  infamy — if  at  the 
time  when  that  charter  was  confirmed  and  renewed,  the  Press 
had  existed,  it  would,  I  think,  have  been  the  first  care  of  those- 
friends  of  freedom  to  have  established  a  principle  of  liberty  for 
it  to  rest  upon,  which  might  resist  every  future  assault.  Their 
aimple  and  unsophisticated  understandings  could  never  be  brought 
to  comprehend  the  legal  subtleties  by  which  it  is  now  argued, 
that  falsehood  is  useful  and  innocent,  and  truth,  the  emanation 
and  the  type  of  heaven,  a  crime.  They  would  have  cut  with 
their  swords  the  cobweb  links  of  sophistry  in  which  truth  is  en- 
tangled ;  and  they  would  have  rendered  it  impossible  to  re-es 
tablish  this  injustice  without  violating  the  principle  of  the  con- 
stitution. 

But  in  the  ignorance  of  the  blessing  of  a  free  Press,  they  coul  J 
not  have  provided  for  its  security.  There  remains,  however,  at 
expression  of  their  sentiments  on  our  statute  books.  The  ancient 
parliament  did  pass  a  law  against  the  spreaders  of  FALSE  rumourc 
This  law  proves  two  things — first,  that  before  this  statute,  it 
was  not  considered  a  crime  in  law  to  spread  even  a  false  rumour 
otherwise  the  statute  would  have  been  unnecessary;  ai^d,  secondly, 
that  in  their  notion  of  crime,  falsehood  was  a  necessary  ingre 
lient  But  here  I  have  to  remark  upon,  and  regret  the  strange 
propensity  of  judges,  to  construe  .the  law  in  favour  of  tyranny, 
mid  nrahiBt  liberty  ;  for  servile  and  corrupt  juJ#»«  so^a 


DANIEL  O'UOXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  257 

that  upon  the  coustruction  of  this  law,  it  was  immaterial  whether 
the  rumours  were  true  or  false,  and  that  a  law  made  to  punish 
false  rumours,  was  equally  applicable  to  the  true.  . 

This,  gentlemen,  is  called  CONSTRUCTION;  it  is  just  that  which, 
in  more  recent  times,  and  of  inevitable  consequence,  from  purei 
motives,  has  converted  "pretence"  into  "purpose" 

When  the  art  of  printing  was  invented,  its  value  to  every 
sufferer — its  terror  to  every  oppressor,  was  soon  obvious,  ana 
means  were  speedily  adopted  to  prevent  its  salutary  effects.  Tin 
Star-Chamber — the  odious  Star-Chamber,  was  either  created,  or. 
at  least,  enlarged  and  brought  into  activity.  Its  proceedings* 
were  arbitrary — its  decisions  were  oppressive,  and  injusti  ;e  anl 
tyranny  were  formed  into  a  system.  To  describe  it  to  you  in 
one  sentence,  it  WAS  A  PREMATURELY  PACKED  JURY. 
Perhaps  that  description  does  not  shock  you  much.  Let  me 
report  one  of  its  decisions  which  will,  I  think,  make  its  horrors 
more  sensible  to  you — it  is  a  ludicrous  as  well  as  a  roelancholy 
instance. 

A  tradesman — a  ruffian,  I  presume,  he  was  styled — in  au 
altercation  with  a  nobleman's  servant,  called  the  swan,  which  was 
worn  on  the  servant's  arm  for  a  badge,  a  goose.  For  this  offence 
-—the  calling  a  nobleman's  badge  of  a  swan,  a  goose,  he  was 
brought  before  tho  Star-Chamber — he  was,  of  course,  convicted; 
he  lost,  as  I  recollect,  one  of  his  ears  on  the  pillory — was  sen- 
tenced to  two  years'  imprisonment,  and  a  fine  of  £500  ;  and  all 
this  to  teach  him  to  distinguish  swans  from  geese. 

I  now  ask  you,  to  what  is  it  you  tradesmen  and  merchants 
are  indebted  for  the  safety  and  respect  you  can  enjoy  in  society? 
What  is  it  which  has  rescued  you  from  the  slavery  in  which  per- 
sons who  are  engaged  in  trade  were  held  by  the  iron  barons  of 
former  days?  I  will  tell  you;  it  is  the  light,  the  reason,  and  the 
liberty  which  have  been  created,  and  will,  in  despite  of  ever^ 
opposition,  be  perpetuated  by  the  exertion  of  the  Press. 

Gentlemen,  the  Star-Chamber  was  particularly  vigilant  over 
the  infant  struggles  of  the  Press.  A  code  of  laws  became  neces- 
sary to  govern  the  new  enemy  to  prejudice  and  oppression — the 
Press.  The  Star-Chamber  adopted,  for  this  purpose,  the  civil 
]?\w,  as  it  is  called — the  law  of  Rome — not  the  law  at  the  periods 
of  her  liberty  and  her  glory,  but  the  law  which  was  promulgated 
tdien  she  fell  into  slavery  and  disgrace,  and  recognised  this 
principle,  that  the  will  of  the  prince  was  the  rule  of  the  law. 
The  civil  law  was  adopted  by  the  Star-Chamber  as  its  guide  iu 
proceedings  against,  and  in  nunishing  libellers;  but,  unfortu- 


258  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

nately,  only  part  of  it  was  adopted,  and  that,  of  course,  was  the 
part  least  favourable  to  freedom.  So  much  of  the  civil  law  ud 
assisted  to  discover  the  concealed  libeller,  and  to  punish  bin: 
when  discovered,  was  carefully  selected  ;  but  the  civil  law  allowed 
truth  to  be  a  defence,  and  that  part  was  carefully  rejected. 

The  Star-Chamber  was  soon  after  abolished.  It  was  suppressed 
by  the  hatred  and  vengeance  of  an  outraged  people,  and  it  has 
since,  and  until  our  days,  lived  only  in  the  recollection  of  abhor- 
rence and  contempt.  But  we  have  fallen  upon  bad  days  and 
evil  times  ;  and  in  our  days  we  have  seen  a  lawyer,  long  of  the 
prostrate  and  degraded  bar  of  England,  presume  to  suggest  an 
high  eulogium  on  the  Star-Chamber,  and  regret  its  downfal  ; 
and  he  has  done  this  in  a  book  dedicated,  by  permission,  to  Lord 
Ellenborough.  This  is,  perhaps,  an  ominous  circumstance  ;  and 
as  Star-Chamber  punishments  have  been  revived — as  two  years 
of  imprisonment  has  become  familiar,  I  know  not  how  soon  the 
useless  lumber  of  even  well-selected  juries  may  be  abolished,  and 
a  new  Star-Chamber  created. 

From  the  Star-Chamber,  gentlemen,  the  prevention  and  pun- 
ishment of  libels  descended  to  th*  courts  of  common  law,  and 
with  the  power  they  seem  to  have  inherited  much  of  the  spirit 
»f  that  tribunal.  Servility  at  the  bar,  and  profligacy  on  the 
oench,  have  not  been  wanting  to  aid  every  construction  un- 
favourable to  freedom,  and  at  length  it  is  taken  as  granted  and 
as  clear  law,  that  truth  or  falsehood  are  quite  immaterial  cir- 
cumstances, constituting  no  part  of  either  guilt  or  innocence 

I  would  wish  to  examine  this  revolting  doctrine,  and,  in  doing 
BO,  I  am  proud  to  tell  you,  that  it  has  no  other  foundation  than 
in  the  oft-repeated  assertions  of  lawyers  and  judges.  Its  autho- 
rity depends  on  what  are  technically  called  the  dicta  of  the 
judges  and  writers,  and  not  upon  solemn  or  regular  adjudications 
on  the  point.  One  servile  lawyer  has  repeated  this  doctrine, 
from  time  to  time,  after  another — and  one  overbearing  judge  ha* 
re-echoed  the  assertion  of  a  time-serving  predecessor,  and  th« 
public  have,  at  length,  submitted. 

I  do,  therefore,  feel,  not  only  gratified  in  having  the  occasion, 
out  bound  to  express  my  opinion  upon  the  real  law  of  this  sub- 
ject. I  know  that  opinion  is  but  of  little  weight.  I  have  no 
professional  rank,  or  station,  or  talents  to  give  it  importance, 
but  it  is  an  honest  and  conscientious  opinion,  and  it  is  this — 
thai  in  the  discussion  of  public  subjects,  and  of  the  administra- 
tion of  public  men,  truth  is  a  duty  and  not  a  crime. 

You  can.  at  least,  under  *  t.nd  my  description  of  the  liberty  of 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL.  ESQ.,  M.P.  259 

the  Press.  That  of  the  Attorney- General  is  as  unintelligible 
•is  contradictory.  He  tells  you,  in  a  very  odd  and  quaint  phrase, 
that  the  liberty  of  the  Press  consists  in  there  being  no  previous- 
restraint  upon  the  tongue  or  the  pen.  How  any  previous  re- 
straint could  be  imposed  on  the  tongue  it  is  for  this  wisest  of 
men  to  tell  you,  unless,  indeed,  he  resorts  to  Doctor  Lad's  pre- 
scription with  respect  to  the  toothache  eradication.  Neither 
can  the  absence  of  previous  restraint  constitute  a  free  Press,  un- 
less, indeed,  it  shall  be  distinctly  ascertained,  and  clearly  de* 
fined,  what  shall  be  subsequently  called  a  crime.  If  the  crimj 
of  libel  be  undefined,  or  uncertain,  or  capricious,  then,  instead  oi 
the  absence  of  restraint  before  publication  being  an  advantage, 
it  is  an  injury;  instead  of  its  being  a  blessing,  it  is  a  curse — it 
is  nothing  more  than  a  pitfall  and  snare  for  the  unwary.  This 
liberty  of  the  Press  is  only  an  opportunity  and  a  temptation 
offered  by  the  law  to  the  commission  of  crime — it  is  a  trap  laid 
to  catch  men  for  punishment — it  is  not  the  liberty  of  discussing 
truth  or  discountenancing  oppression,  but  a  mode  of  rearing  up 
victims  for  prosecution,  and  of  seducing  men  into  imprisonment. 

Yet,  can  any  gentleman  concerned  for  the  Crown  give  me  a 
definition  of  the  crime  of  libel  1  Is  it  not  uncertain  and  unde- 
fined ;  and,  in  truth,  is  it  not,  at  this  moment,  quite  subject  t« 
the  caprice  and  whim  of  the  judge  and  of  the  jury  ?  Is  the 
Attorney-General — is  the  Solicitor-General  disposed  to  say  other- 
wise?  If  he  do,  he  must  contradict  his  own  doctrine,  and  adopt  mine. 

But  no,  gentlemen,  they  must  leave  you  in  uncertainty  an<j 
doubt,  and  ask  you  to  give  a  verdict,  on  your  oath,  without  fur- 
nishing you  with  any  rational  materials  to  judge  whethei  you 
be  right  or  wrong.  Indeed,  to  such  a  wild  extent  of  caprice 
has  Lord  Ellenborough  carried  the  doctrine  of  crime  in  libel, 
that  he  appears  to  have  gravely  ruled,  that  it  was  a  crime  to 
call  one  lord  "  a  stout-built,  special  pleader,"  although,  in  point 
of  fact,  that  lord  was  stout-built,  and  had  been  very  many  years 
a  special  pleader.  And  that  it  was  a  crime  to  call  another  lord 
"a  sheep-feeder  from  Cambridgeshire,"  although  that  lord  was 
right  glad  to  have  a  few  sheep  in  that  county.  These  are  the 
extravagant  vagaries  of  the  Crown  lawyers  and  prerogative 
judges ;  you  will  find  it  impossible  to  discover  any  rational  rule 
for  your  conduct,  and  can  never  rest  upon  any  satisfactory  view 
of  the  subject,  unless  you  are  pleased  to  adopt  my  description, 
"Reason  and  justice  equally  recognise  it,  and  believe  me,  that 
genuine  law  is  much  more  closely  connected  with  justice  and 
titan  SOH>«  persons  will  avow. 


!>60  SELECT  SPEECHES  Of 

Gentlemen,  you  are  now  apprised  of  the  nature  of  the  alleged 
iibel ;  it  is  a  discussion  upon  the  administration  of  public  men. 
I  have  also  submitted  to  you  my  view  of  the  law  applicable  to 
such  a  publication;  we  are,  therefore,  prepared  to  go  into  tho 
consideration  of  every  sentence  in  the  newspaper  in  question. 

But  before  I  do  so,  just  allow  me  to  point  your  attention  to 
the  motives  of  this  young  gentleman.  The  Attorney-General 
has  threatened  him  with  fine  and  a  dungeon;  he  has  told  Mr. 
Magee  that  he  should  suffer  in  his  purse  and  in  his  person.  Mr. 
Magee  knew  his  danger  well.  Mr.  Magee,  before  he  published 
this  paper,  was  quite  apprised  that  he  ran  the  risk  of  fine  and 
of  imprisonment.  He  knew  also  that  if  he  changed  his  tone — 
that  if  he  became  merely  neutral,  but  especially,  if  he  went  over 
to  the  other  side  and  praised  the  Duke  of  Richmond — if  he  had 
sufficient  gravity  to  talk,  without  a  smile,  of  the  sorrow  of  tho 
people  of  Ireland  at  his  Grace's  departure — if  he  had  a  visage 
sufficiently  lugubrious,  to  say  so,  without  laughing,  to  cry  out 
"mournfully,  oh!  mournfully !"  for  the  departure  of  the  Duke  of 
Richmond — if  at  a  period  when  the  people  of  Ireland,  from 
Magherafelt  to  Dingledecouch,  are  rejoicing  at  that  departure, 
Mr.  Magee  could  put  on  a  solemn  countenance  and  pick  up  a 
grave  and  narcotic  accent,  and  have  the  resolution  to  assert  the 
sorrow  of  the  people  for  losing  so  sweet  and  civil  a  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant— why,  in  that  case,  gentlemen,  you  know  the  conse- 
quences. They  are  obvious.  He  might  libel  certain  classes  of 
his  Majesty's  subjects  with  impunity;  he  would  get  abundance 
of  money,  a  place,  and  a  pension — you  know  he  would.  Th« 
proclamations  would  be  inserted  his  paper.  The  wide-street  ad- 
vertisements, the  ordnance,  the  barrack-board  notices,  and  tne 
advertisements  of  all  the  other  public  boards  and  offices — you 
can  scarcely  calculate  how  much  money  he  sacrifices  to  his  prin- 
ciples. I  am  greatly  within  bounds  when  I  say,  at  least,  £5,000 
per  annum,  of  the  public  money,  would  reach  him  if  he  was  to 
Alter  his  tone,  and  abandon  his  opinions. 

Has  he  instructed  me  to  boast  of  the  sacrifices  he  thus  makes  ? 
No,  gentlemen,  no,  no ;  he  deems  it  no  sacrifice,  bxrcause  he  de- 
sires no  share  in  the  public  plunder;  but  I  introduce  this  topic 
to  demonstrate  to  you  the  purity  of  his  intentions.  He  cannot 
be  actuated,  in  the  part  he  takes,  tiy  mean  or  mercenary  motives; 
it  is  not  the  base  lucre  of  gain  that  leads  him  astray.  If  he  be 
mistaken,  he  is,  at  least,  disinterested  and  sincere.  You  miy 
ciisiike  his  political  opinions,  but  you  cannot  avoid  respecting 
the  independence  of  his  principles. 


DANIEL  OCONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  261 

Behold,  now,  the  publication  which  this  man  of  puro  princi- 
ples is  calloi  to  answer  for  as  a  libel.  It  commences  thus : — 

"DUKE  OF  RICHMOND. 

"  As  the  Duke  of  Richmond  will  shortly  retire  from  the  government 
cf  Ireland,  it  has  been  deemed  necessary  to  take  such  a  review  of  hii 
administration,  as  may  at  least,  warn  his  successor  from  pursuing  the 
errors  of  his  Grace's  conduct. 

"  The  review  shall  contain  jaany  anecdotes  of  the  Irish  court  which 
were  never  published,  and  which  were  so  secret,  that  his  Grace  will  not 
fail  to  be  surprised  at  the  sight  of  them  in  a  newspaper." 

In  thb  paragraph  there  is  nothing  libellous;  it  talks  of  the 
errors,  indeed,  of  his  Grace's  administration ;  but  I  do  not  think 
the  Attorney-General  will  venture  to  suggest,  that  the  gent.le 
expression  of  "errors,"  is  a  libel. 

To  orr,  gentlemen,  is  human :  and  his  Grace  is  admitted,  by 
the  Attorney- General,  to  be  bnt  a  man;  I  shall  waste  none  of 
your  time  in  proving,  that  we  may,  without  offence,  treat  of  his 
"errors."  But,  this  is  not  even  the  errors  of  the  man,  but  of 
his  administration ;  it  was  not  infallible,  I  humbly  presume. 

I  call  your  particular  attention  to  the  second  paragraph ;  it 
runs  thus : — 

"  If  the  administration  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond  had  been  conducted 
with  more  than  ordinary  talent,  its  errors  might,  in  some  degree  have 
been  atoned  for  by  its  ability,  and  the  people  of  Ireland  though  they 
might  have  much  to  regret,  yet,  would  have  something  to  admire ;  but 
truly  after  the  gravest  consideration,  they  must  find  themselves  at  a  loss 
to  discover  any  striking  feature  in  his  Grace's  administration,  that 
makes  it  superior  to  the  worst  of  his  predecessors." 

The  Attorney-General  dwelt  much  upon  this  paragraph,  gen- 
tlemen, and  the  importance  which  he  attached  to  it  furnishes  a 
strong  illustration  of  his  own  consciousness  of  the  weakness  01 
his  case.  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  paragraph  1  I  appeal  to 
you  whether  it  be  more  than  this — that  there  has  been  nothing 
admirable  in  this  administration — that  there  has  not  been  much 
ability  displayed  by  it.  So  far,  gentlemen,  there  is,  indeed,  no 
flattery,  but  still  less  of  libel,  unless  you  are  prepared  to  say, 
that  to  withhold  praise  from  any  administration  deserves  pu» 
ishment. 

Is  it  an  indictable  offence  not  to  perceive  its  occult  talents/ 
Why,  if  it  be,  find  my  client  guilty  of  not  being  a  sycophant 
\ud  a  flatterer,  and  send  him  to  prison  for  two  years,  to  gratify 
l.he  Attorney- General,  who  tells  you  that  the  Duke  of  Richmond 
is  the  best  chief  governor  Ireland  ever  saw. 


262  B13LBCT  8PEBCHKS  OP 

But  the  mischief,  I  am  told,  lies  in  the  art  of  the  sentence. 
Why,  all  that  it  says  is,  that  it  is  difficult  to  discover  the  strik- 
ing features  that  distinguish  this  from  bad  administrations.  It 
does  not,  gentlemen,  assert  that  no  such  striking  features  exist, 
much  less,  does  it  assert  that  no  features  of  that  kind  exist,  or 
that  such  features,  although  not  striking  are  not  easily  discerni- 
ble. So  that,  really,  you  are  here  again  required  to  convict  1 
man  for  not  flattering.  He  thinks  an  administration  untalented 
and  silly ;  that  is  no  crime  ;  he  says,  it  has  not  been  marked 
with  talent  or  ability — that  it  has  no  striking  features ;  all  this 
may  be  mistaken  and  false,  yet  there  is  nothing  in  it  that  resem- 
bles a  crime. 

And,  gentlemen,  if  it  be  true — if  this  be  a  foolish  administra- 
tion, can  it  be  an  offence  to  say  so?  If  it  has  had  no  striking 
features  to  distinguish  it  from  bad  administrations,  can  it  be 
criminal  to  say  so  ?  Are  you  prepared  to  say,  that  not  one  word 
of  truth  can  be  told  under  no  less  a  penalty  than  years  of  a  dun- 
geon and  heavy  fines? 

Recollect,  that  the  Attorney-General  told  you  that  the  Press 
was  the  protection  of  the  people  against  the  government.  Good 
Heaven !  gentlemen,  how  can  it  protect  the  people  against  the 
government,  if  it  be  a  crime  to  say  of  that  government  that  it 
has  committed  errors,  displays  little  talent,  and  has  no  striking 
features  ?  Did  the  prosecutor  mock  you,  when  he  talked  of  the 
protection  the  Press  afforded  to  the  people?  If  he  did  not  insult 
you  by  the  admission  of  that  upon  which  he  will  not  allow  you 
to  act,  let  me  ask,  against  what  is  the  Press  to  protect  the  peo- 
ple ?  When  do  the  people  want  protection ? — when  the  govern- 
ment is  engaged  in  delinquencies,  oppression,  and  crimes.  It  is 
against  these  that  the  people  want  the  protection  of  the  Press. 
Now,  I  put  it  to  your  plain  sense,  whether  the  Press  oan  afford 
such  protection,  if  it  be  punished  for  treating  of  these  crimes? 

Still  more,  can  a  shadow  of  protection  be  given  by  a  Pree* 
that  is  not  permitted  to  mention  the  errors,  the  talents,  and  the 
striking  features  of  an  administration  ?  Here  is  a  watchman  ad- 
mitted by  the  Attorney-General  to  be  at  his  post  to  warn  the 
people  of  their  danger,  and  the  first  thing  that  is  done  to  this 
watchman  is  to  knock  him  down  and  bring  him  to  a  dungeon, 
lor  announcing  the  danger  he  is  bound  to  disclose.  I  agree  with 
the  Attorney-General,  the  Press  is  a  protection,  but  it  is  not  in 
its  silence  or  in  its  voice  of  flattery.  It  can  protect  only  by 
speaking  out  when  there  is  danger,  or  error,  or  want  of  ability. 
If  the  harshness  of  this  tone  be  complained  of,  1  ask,  what  is  ix 


DANIEL  O  CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  263 

the  Attorney- General  would  have?  Does  he  wish  that  this 'pro- 
tection should  speak  so  as  not  to  be  understood ;  or,  I  again  re- 
peat it,  does  he  mean  to  delude  us  with  the  name  and  the  mock- 
pry  of  protection'?  Upon  this  ground,  I  defy  you  to  find  a  ver- 
dict for  the  prosecutor,  without  declaring  that  he  has  been 
guilty  of  an  attempt  to  deceive,  when  he  talked  of  the  protection 
of  the  Press  against  errors,  ignorance,  and  incapacity,  which  it 
is  not  to  dare  even  to  name.  Gentlemen,  upon  this  second 
paragraph,  I  am  entitled  to  your  verdict,  upon  the  Attorney - 
General's  own  admission. 

He,  indeed,  passed  on  to  the  next  sentence  with  an  air  of  tri- 
umph, with  the  apparent  certainty  of  its  producing  a  conviction ; 
I  meet  him  upon  it — I  read  it  boldly — I  will  discuss  it  with  you 
manfully — it  is  this : — 

"  They  insulted,  they  oppressed,  they  murdered,  and  they  de- 
csived." 

The  Attorney-General  told  us,  rather  ludicrously,  that  they, 
meaning  the  Duke's  ^predecessors,  included,  of  course,  himself. 
How  a  mar  could  be  included  amongst  his  predecessors,  it  would 
be  difficuJ .  to  discover.  It  seems  to  be  that  mode  of  expression 
which  would  indicate,  that  the  Attorney-General,  notwithstand- 
ing his  foreign  descent,  has  imbibed  some  of  the  language  of  the 
native  Irish.  But  our  blunders  arise  not  like  this,  from  a  con- 
fusion of  idea ;  they  are  generally  caused  by  too  great  condensa- 
tion of  thought;  they  are,  indeed,  frequently  of  the  head,  but 
never — never  of  the  heart.  Would  I  could  say  so  much  for  the 
Attorney-General ;  his  blunder  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  his  cool 
and  cautious  head ;  it  sprung,  I  much  fear,  from  the  misguided 
bitterness  of  the  bigotry  of  his  heart. 

Well,  gentlemen,  this  sentence  does,  in  broad  and  distinct 
terms,  sharge  the  predecessors  of  the  Duke,  but  not  the  Duke 
himself,  wdth  insult,  oppression,  murder,  and  deceit.  But  it  is 
history,  gentlemen  :  are  you  prepared  to  silence  the  voice  of 
history  ?  Are  you  disposed  to  suppress  the  recital  of  facts — 
the  story  of  the  events  of  former  days  1  Is  the  historian,  and 
the  publisher  of  history,  to  be  exposed  to  indictment  and  punish- 
ment ? 

Let  me  read  for  you  two  passages  from  Doctor  Leland's  His- 
tory of  Ireland.  I  choose  a  remote  period,  to  avoid  shocking 
5- our  prejudices,  by  the  recital  of  the  more  modern  crimes  of  th<! 
iaction  to  which  most  of  you  belong.  Attend  to  this  passage, 
gentlemen. 

"  Anno  1574. — A  solemn  peace  and  concord  was  made  between 


2G4-  SELECT  SPEF.<  RF* 

the  «Earl  of  Essox  and  Felira  O'Nial.  However,  at  a  feast, 
wherein  the  Earl  entertained  that  chieftain,  and  at  the  eiid  of 
hheir  good  cheer,  O'Nial,  with  his  wife,  were  seized;  their  friends, 
who  attended,  were  put  to  the  sword  before  their  faces.  Felim, 
together  with  his  wife  and  brother,  were  conveyed  to  Dublin, 
where  they  were  CUT  UP  IN  QUARTERS." 

How  would  you  have  this  fact  described  ?  In  what  lady-lik» 
terms  is  the  future  historian  to  mention  this  savage  and  brutal 
massacre.  Yet  Essex  was  an  English  nobleman — a  predecessor 
of  his  Grace ;  he  was  accomplished,  gallant,  and  gay ;  the  envied 
paramour  of  the  virgin  queen  ;  and,  if  he  afterwards  fell  on  the 
scaffold,  one  of  the  race  of  the  ancient  Irish  may  be  permitted 
to  indulge  the  fond  superstition  that  would  avenge  the  royal 
blood  of  the  O'Nial  and  of  his  consort,  on  their  perfidious  English 
murderer. 

But  my  soul  fills  with  bitterness,  and  I  will  read  of  no  more 
Irish  murders.  I  turn,  however,  to  another  page,  and  I  will  in- 
troduce to  your  notice  another  predecessor  of  his  Grace  the 
Duke  of  Richmond.  It  is  Grey,  who,  after  the  recal  of  Essex, 
commanded  the  English  forces  in  Munster.  The  fort  of  Smer- 
wick,  in  Kerry,  surrendered  to  Grey  a*  discretion.  It  contained 
some  Irish  troops,  and  more  than  700  Spaniards.  The  historian 
shall  tell  you  the  rest  : — 

"That  mercy  for  which  they  sued  was  rigidly  denied  them. 
Wingfield  was  commissioned  to  disarm  them,  and  when  this  ser- 
nee  was  performed,  an  English  company  was  sent  into  the 
fort. 

"  The  Irish  rebels  found  they  were  reserved  for  execution  by 
martial  law. 

"  The  Italian  general  and  some  officers  were  made  prisoners  of 
war :  but  the  garrison  was  butchered  in  cold  blood;  nor  is  it  with- 
out pain,  that  we  find  a  service  so  horrid  and  detestable,  com- 
mitted to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh." 

"  The  garrison  was  butchered  in  cold  blood,"  says  the  historian. 
Furnish  us,  Mr.  Attorney-General,  with  gentle  accents  and  sweet 
words,  to  speak  of  this  savage  atrocity  ;  or  will  you  indict  the 
author?  Alas  !  he  is  dead,  full  of  years  and  respect — as  faithful 
an  historian  as  the  prejudices  of  his  day  would  allow,  and  a  bene- 
ficed  clergyman  of  your  church. 

Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  what  is  the  mild  language  of  this  paper 
jiompared  with  the  indignant  language  of  history  ?  Raleigh — the 
ill-starred  Raleigh — fell  a  victim  to  a  tyrant  master,  a  COITUD* 
rtr  ovemwed  jury,  and  a  virulent  Attorney-General;  he  was  baited 


DAtfftL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  265 

at  the  bar  with  language  more  scurrilous  and  more  foul  than 
that  you  heard  yesterday  poured  upon  my  client.  Yat,  what 
tttonement  to  civilization  could  his  death  afford  for  the  horrors 
I  have  mentioned  1 

Decide,  now,  gentlemen,  between  those  libels — between  that 
deiimer's  history  and  my  client.  He  calls  those  predecessors  of 
his  Grace,  murderers.  History  has  left  the  living  records  of  tLeir 
crimes  from  ohe  O'Nial,  treacherously  slaughtered,  to  the  cruel 
cold  butchery  of  the  defenceless  prisoners.  Until  I  shall  see  the 
publishers  of  Leland  and  of  Hume  brought  to  your  bar,  I  defy 
yon  to  convict  my  client. 

To  show  you  that  my  client  has  treated  these  predecessors  of 
of  his  Grace  with  great  lenity,  I  will  introduce  to  your  notice  one,, 
and  only  one  more  of  them  ;  and  he,  too,  fell  on  the  sciffold— 
the  unfortunate  Strafford,  the  best  servant  a  despotic  king  could 
desire. 

Amongst  the  means  taken  to  raise  money  in  Ireland,  for  James 
the  First,  and  his  son  Charles,  a  proceeding  called  "  a  commis- 
sion to  inquire  into  defective  titles,"  was  invented.  It  wa:,  a 
sche*aie,  gentlemen,  to  inquire  of  every  man  what  righf  he  hal 
*o  his  own  property,  and  to  have  it  solemnly  and  legally  ^ete> 
mined  that  he  had  none.  To  effectuate  this  scheme  required 
great  management,  discretion,  and  integrity.  First,  there  were 
4,00u  excellent  horse  raised  for  the  purpose  of  being,  as  StrufFord 
himself  said  "good  lookers-on."  The  rest  of  the  arrangement 
I  would  recommend  to  modern  practice  ;  it  would  save  much 
'.rouble.  I  will  shortly  abstract  it  from  two  of  Straffbrd's  own 
letters. 

The  one  appears  to  have  been  written  by  him  to  the  L,ord 
Treasurer;  it  is  dated  the  3rd  December,  1634.  He  begins  with 
an  apology  for  not  having  been  more  expeditious  in  this  wo^i  of 
plunder,  for  his  employers  were,  it  seems,  impatient  at  the 
melancholy  waste  of  time.  He  then  says — 

"  Howbeit,  I  will  redeem  the  time  as  much  as  1  can,  with  such 
as  may  give  furtherance  to  the  king's  title,  and  will  inquire  wt 

FIT  «vfEN  TO  SERVE  UPON  THE  JURIES." 

To,ke  notice  of  that,  gentlemen,  I  pray  you ;  perhaps  yo»i 
thought  that  the  "  packing  of  juries"  was  a  modern  invention — 
i  new  discovery.  You  see  how  greatly  mistaken  you  were  ;  the 
thing  has  example  and  precedent  to  support  it,  and  the  autho- 
rity of  both  are,  in  our  law,  quite  conclusive. 

The  next  step  was  to  corrupt — oh,  no,  to  interest  the  wise  an  1 
learned  judges.  But  commentary  becomes  unnecessary,  when 

s 


206*  BKLKCT  SPEECHES  OP 

read  for  you  this  passage  from  a  letter  of  his  to  the  King,  dated 
the  9th  of  December,  1636  :— 

«  Your  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased,  upon  my  humble  advice,  to 
bestow  f  >ur  sliillings  in  the  pound  upon  your  Lord  Chief  Justice  and 
Lord  Chief  Baron  in  this  kingdom,  fourth  of  the  first  yearly  rent  raised 
upon  the  commission  of  defective  title,  which,  upon  observation,  I  find, 
to  be  the  bast  given  that  ever  was.  For  now  they  do  intend  it,  with  a 
rare  and  diligence,  such  as  if  it  were  their  own  private,  and  most  cer- 
tain gaining  to  themselves ;  every  four  shillings  once  paid,  shall  better 
your  revenue  for  ever  after,  at  leaat  five  pounds." 

Thus,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  all  was  ready  for  the  mockery  of 
law  amd  justice,  cilled  a  trial. 

Now,  let  me  take  any  one  of  you  ;  let  me  place  him  here, 
where  Mr.  Magee  stands ;  let  him  have  his  property  at  stake  , 
let  it  be  of  less  value,  I  pray  you,  than  a  compensation  for  two 
years'  imprisonment ;  it  will,  however,  be  of  sufficient  value  to 
interest  and  rouse  all  your  agony  and  anxiety.  If  you  were  so 
placed  here,  you  would  see  before  you  the  well-paid  A.ttorney- 
General,  perhaps,  malignantly  delighted  to  pour  his  rancour 
upon  you  ;  on  the  bench  would  sit  the  corrupt  and  partisan 
judge,  and  before  you,  on  that  seat  which  you  now  occupy,  would 
be  placed  the  packed  and  predetermined  jury. 

I  beg,  sir,  to  know  what  would  be  your  feelings,  your  honour, 
your  rage ;  would  you  not  compare  the  Attorney-General  to  the 
gambler  who  played  with  a  loaded  die,  and  then  you  would  hear 
him  talk,  in  solemn  and  monotonous  tones,  of  his  conscience  ! 
Oh,  his  conscience,  gentlemen  of  the  jury  ! 

But  the  times  are  altered.  The  Press,  the  Press,  gentlemen, 
has  effectuated  a  salutary  revolution  ;  a  commission  of  defective 
titles  would  no  longer  be  tolerated  :  the  judges  can  no  longer  be 

bribed  with  money,  and  juries  can  no  longer  be I  must 

not  say  it.  Yes,  they  can,  you  know — we  all  know  they  can  bo 
Ftill  inquired  out,  and  "  packed,"  as  the  technical  phrase  is.  But 
you,  who  are  not  packed,  you,  who  have  been  fairly  selected, 
\vill  see  that  the  language  of  the  publication  before  us  is  mild 
ness  itself,  compared  with  that  which  the  truth  of  history  re- 
quires— compared  with  that  which  history  has  already  used. 

1  proceed  with  this  alleged  libel. 

The  next  sentence  is  this — 

"  The  p'  vrfligate,  unprincipled  Westmoreland."  I  throw  down 
the  papes  :md  address  myself  in  particular  to  some  of  you. 
There  arc.  L  see,  amongst  you  some  of  our  Bible  distributers, 
••  and  o(  i',.1-  suppressors  of  vice."  Distributers  r  T^MPK,  sup- 


OCONNElli,  ESQ.,  M  ?  26« 

pressors  of  vice — what  call  you  profligacy  ?  Wliat  is  it  you 
would  call  profligacy  1  Suppose  the  peerage  was  exposed  to 
sale — set  up  at  open  auction — it  was  at  that  time  a  judicial 
office — suppose  that  its  price,  the  exact  price  of  this  judicial 
office,  was  accurately  ascertained  by  daily  experience — would 
you  calJ  that  profligacy  ?  If  pensions  were  multiplied  beyond 
bounds  and  beyond  example — if  places  were  augmented  untl. 
invention  was  exhausted,  and  then  were  subdivided  and  split 
into  halves,  so  that  two  might  take  the  emoluments  of  each,  and 
no  person  do  the  duty — if  these  acts  were  resorted  to  in  order 
to  corrupt  your  representatives — would  you,  gentle  suppressors 
of  vice,  call  that  profligacy  ? 

If  the  father  of  children  selected  in  the  open  day  his  adulterous 
paramour — if  the  wedded  mother  of  children  displayed  her 
crime  unblushing! y — if  the  assent  of  the  titled  or  untitled  wittol 
to  his  own  shame  was  purchased  with  the  people's  money — if 
this  scene — if  these  were  enacted  in  the  open  day,  would  you 
call  that  profligacy,  sweet  distributers  of  Bibles  ?  The  women  of 
Ireland  have  always  been  beauteous  to  a  proverb;  they  were, 
without  an  exception,  chaste  beyond  the  terseness  of  a  proverb  to 
express ;  they  are  still  as  chaste  as  in  former  days,  but  the  de- 
praved example  of  a  depraved  court  has  furnished  some  excep- 
tions, and  the  action  or  criminal  conversation,  before  the  time 
of  Westmoreland  unknown,  has  since  become  more  familiar  to 
our  courts  of  justice. 

Call  you  the  sad  example  which  produced  those  exceptions 
—  call  you  that  profligacy,  suppressors  of  vice  and  Bible  distri- 
buters }  The  vices  of  the  poor  are  within  the  reach  of  control ; 
to  suppress  them,  you  can  call  in  aid  the  churchwarden  and  the 
constable  ;  the  justice  of  the  peace  will  readily  aid  you,  for  he  is 
a  gentleman — the  Court  of  Sessions  will  punish  those  vices  for 
you' by  fine,  by  imprisonment,  and,  if  you  are  urgent,  by  whip- 
ping. But  suppressors  of  vice,  who  shall  aid  you  to  suppress 
the  vices  of  the  great  ?  Are  you  sincere,  or  are  you,  to  use  your 
own  phraseology,  whitewashed  tombs — painted  .charnel-houses  ? 
Be  ye  hypocrites  ?  Jf  you  are  not — if  you  be  sincere — (and,  oh, 
how  I  wish  that  you  were) — if  you  be  sincere.  I  will  steadily  re- 
quire to  know  of  you,  what  aid  you  expect,  to  suppress  the  vice? 
of  the  rich  and  great  ?  Who  will  assist  yen 1  to  suppress  those  vices  ? 
The  churchwarden  ! — why  he,  I  believe,  handed  them  into  the 
best  pew  in  one  of  your  cathedrals,  that  they 'might  lovingly  hem 
Divine  service  together.  The  constable  !  ! — absnrd.  The  justice- 
2f  the  peace  1 — no.  upon  his  honour.  As  to  the  Court  of  J?es- 


2(58  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

gions,  you  cannot  expect  it  to  interfere  ;  and  iny  lords  the  judges 
are  really  so  busy  at  the  assizes,  in  hurrying  the  grand  juries 
through  the  presentments,  that  there  is  no  leisure  to  lock  aftei 
the  scandalous  faults  of  the  great.  Who,  then,  sincere  and  candid 
..uppresHors  of  vice,  can  aid  you  ? — The  Press  ;  the  Press  alone 
talks  of  the  profligacy  of  the  great ;  and,  at  least,  shames  into 
decency  those  whom  it  may  fail  to  correct.  The  Press  is  your, 
but  your  oniy  assistant.  Go,  then,  men  of  conscience,  men  of 
religion — go,  then,  and  convict  John  Magee,  beeause  he  published 
that  Westmoreland  was  profligate  and  unprincipled  as  a  lord 
lieutenant — do,  convict,  and  then  return  to  your  distribution  of 
Bibles  and  to  your  attacks  upon  the  recreations  of  tie  poor, 
under  the  name  of  vices  ! 

Do,  convict  the  only  aid  which  virtue  has,  and  distribute  your 
Bibles  that  you  may  have  the  name  of  being  religious ;  upon 
your  sincerity  depends  my  client's  prospect  of  a  verdict.  Ihet 
he  lean  upon  a  broken  reed  ? 

I  pass  on  from  the  sanctified  portion  of  the  jury  which  I  have 
latterly  addressed,  and  I  call  the  attention  of  you  all  to  the  next 
•pember  of  the  sentence — 

"  The  cold-hearted  and  cruel  Camden." 

Here  I  have  your  prejudices  all  armed  against  me.  7n  th< 
administration  of  Camden,  your  faction  was  cherished  and  tri- 
umphant. Will  you  prevent  him  to  be  called  cold  and  cruei  ? 
Alas  !  -to-day,  why  have  I  not  men  to  address  who  would  listen 
to  me  for  the  sake  of  impartial  justice  !  But  even  with  you  the 
case  is  too  powerful  to  allow  me  to  despair. 

Well,  /  do  say,  the  cold  and  cruel  Camden.  Why,  on  one  cir- 
cuit, during  his  administration,  there  were  ONE  HUNDRED 
INDIVIDUALS  TRIED  BEFORE  ONE  JUDGE;  OF 
THESE  NINETY-EIGHT  WERE  CAPITALLY  CON- 
VICTED, AND  NINETY-SEVEN  HANGED  !  I  understand 
one  escaped  ;  but  he  was  a  soldier  who  murdered  a  peasant,  or 
something  of  that  TRIVIAL  nature — NINETY-SEVEN-  victims 
in  one  circuit !  !  ! 

In  the  meantime,  it  was  necessary,  for  the  purposes  of  thtt 
Union,  that  the  flame  of  rebellion  should  be  fed.  The  nr.ivtinga 
<>f  the  rebel  colonels  in  the  north  were,  for  a  length  of  :iiue, 
regularly  reported  to  government ;  but  the  rebellion  WLS  ttDt 
then  ripe  enough  ;  and  whilst  the  fruit  was  coming  to  maturity ; 
under  the  fostering 'hand  of  the  administration,  the  wretched 
dupes  atoned  on  the  gallows  for  allowing  themselves  to  be  de- 
ceived. 


DANIEL  O'CONSELL,  ESQ.,  5I.P.  269 

In  the  meantime  the  soldiery  were  turned  in  at  free  quarters 
amongst  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  peasantry  ! !  '! 

Have  you  heard  of  Abercrombie,  the  valiant  and  the  good — 
Le  who.  mortally  wounded,  neglected  his  wound  until  victory 
was  ascertained — ha  who  allowed  his  life's  stream  to  flow  unno- 
ticed becauRO  bia  country's  battle  was  ki  suspense — he  who  died 
the  martyr  of  victory — he  who  commenced  the  career  of  glory 
on  the  land,  and  taught  French  insolence,  than  which  there  if 
nothing  so  permanent— even  transplanted,  it  exhibits  itself  to 
the  third  and  fourth  generation — he  taught  French  insolence, 
that  the  British  and  Irish  soldier  was  as  much  his  superior  by 
land,  as  the  sailor  was  confessedly  by  sea — he,  in  short,  who 
commenced  that  career  which  has  since  placed  the  Insh  Wel- 
lington on  the  highest  pinnacle  of  glory.  Abercrombie  and  Moore 
were  in  Ireland  under  Carnden.  Moore,  too,  has  since  fallen  at 
the  moment  of  triumph — Moore,  the  best  of  sons,  of  brothers,  of 
friends,  of  men — the  soldier  and  the  scholar — the  soul  of  reason 
and  the  heart  of  pity — Moore  has,  in  documents  of  which  you 
may  plead  ignorance,  left  his  opinions  upon  record  with  re- 
spect to  the  cruelty  of  Camden's  administration.  But  you  all 
have  heard  of  Abercrombie's  proclamation,  for  it  amounted  to 
that ;  he  proclaimed  that  cruelty  in  terms  the  most  unequivocal ; 
he  stated  to  the  soldiery  and  to  the  nation,  that  the  conduct  of 
the  Camden  administration  had  rendered  "the  soldiery  formi- 
dable to  all  but  the  enemy." 

Was  there  no  cruelty  in  thus  degrading  the  British  soldier  ? 
And  say,  was  not  the  process  by  which  that  degradation  was 
effectuated  cruelty?  Do,  then,  contradict  Abercrombie,  upon 
your  oaths,  if  you  dare ;  but,  by  doing  so,  it  is  rot  my  client 
alone  you  will  convict — you  will  also  convict  yourselves  of  the 
foul  crime  of  perjury. 

I  now  come  to  the  third  branch  of  this  sentence  ;  and  here  1 
have  an  easy  task.  All,  gentlemen,  that  is  said  of  the  artificer 
and  superintendent  of  the  Union  is  this — "the  artful  and 
treacherous  Cornwallis."  Is  it  necessary  to  prove  that  the 
Union  was  effectuated  by  artifice  and  treachery  ?  For  my  part, 
it  makes  my  blood  boil  when  I  think  of  the  unhappy  period 
which  was  contrived  and  seized  on  to  carry  it  into  effect ;  one 
year  sooner,  and  it  would  have  made  a  revolution— one  year 
later,  and  it  would  have  been  for  ever  impossible  to  carry  it. 
The  moment  was  artfully  and  treacherously  seized  on,  and  OUB 
country,  that  was  a  nation  for  countless  ages,  has  dwindled  into 
•A.  province,  and  her  name  and  her  glory  are  extinct  for  ever. 


270 


Sf-M<:;c:iE8 


1  should  not  waste  a  moment  upon  this  part  of  t.'ie  case,  but 
tJiat  the  gentlemen  at  the  other  side  who  opposed  that  measure 
iiave  furnished  me  with  some  topics  which  I  may  not,  oanuoit 
omit.  Indeed  Mr.  Magee  deserves  no  verdict  from  any  Irish 
jury,  who  can  hesitate  to  think  that  the  contriver  of  the  Union 
is  treated  with  too  much  lenity  in  this  sentence  ;  hs  fears  youi 
disapprobation  for  speaking  with  so  little  animosity  of  the  arti- 
noer  of  the  Union. 

There  was  one  piece  of  treachery  committed  at  that  period,  at 
which  both  you  and  I  equally  rejoice  ;  it  was  the  breach  of  faith 
towards  the  leading  Catholics  ;  the  written  promises  made  them 
;it  that  period  have  been  since  printed  ;  I  rejoice  with  you  tvxat 
they  were  not  fulfilled  ;  when  the  Catholic  trafficked  for  his  own 
advantage  upon  his  country's  miseries,  he  deserved  to  be  deceived. 
for  this  mockery,  I  thank  the  Cornwallis  administration.  /  re- 
ioice,  also,  thai  my  first  introduction  to  t/te  stage  of  public  life,  was 
m  the  opposition  to  that  measure. 

In  humble  and  obscure  distance,  I  followed  the  footsteps  of 
my  present  adversaries.  What  their  sentiments  were  then  of 
the  authors  of  the  Union,  I  beg  to  read  to  you  ;  I  will  read  them 
from  a  newspaper  set  up  for  the  mere  purpose  of  opposing  the 
Union,  and  conducted  under  the  control  of  these  gentlemen.  It 
their  editor  should  be  gravely  denied,  I  shall  only  reply  —  "  on 
cease  your  funning."* 

The  charge  of  being  a  Jacobin,  was  at  that  time  made  against 
the  present  Attorney-General  —  him,  plain  William  Saurin  —  in 
the  very  terms,  and  with  just  as  much  truth  as  he  now  applies 
it  to  my  client.  His  reply  shall  serve  for  that  of  Mr.  Magee.  I 
take  it  from  the  anti-Union  of  the  22nd  March,  1800. 

"  To  the  charge  of  Jacobin,  Mr.  Saurin  said  he  knew  not  what 
t  meant,  as  applied  to  him,  except  it  was  an  opposition  to  the 
will  of  the  British  minister" 

So  says  Mr.  Magee  ;  but,  gentlemen,  my  eye  lights  upon  an- 
other passage  of  Mr.  Saurin's,  in  the  same  speech  from  whicK 
L  have  quoted  the  above.  It  was  in  these  words  :  — 

"  Mr.  Saurin  admitted,  that  debates  might  sometimes  product 
agitations,  but  that  was  the  PRICE  necessarily  paid  for  liberty" 

Oh,  how  I  thank  this  good  Jew  for  the  word.  Yes,  agitation 
is,  as  Mr.  Saurin  well  remarked,  the  price  necessarily  paid  for 
liberty.  We  have  paid  the  price,  gentlemen,  and  the  honest 
man  refuses  to  give  us  the  goods.  (Much  laughing.) 

1    A  runpUet  under  iti»  titie  we*  published  ty  the  Solicitor-General  ;  it  wa»  fall  of  wit 

»ud  talent 


DA.NIET   O'CONXELL,  ESQ..  M.P.  271 

Xo\r,  gentlemen,  of  this  Mr.  Saurin,  then  an  agitator,  I  beg 
leave  to  read  the  opinion  upon  this  Union,  the  author  of  which 
we  have  only  called  artful  and  treacherous.  From  this  speed  i 
of  the  13th  March,  1800.  I  select  those  passages  : 

"Mr.  Saurin  said  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  the  crown,  to  the 
country,  and  to  his  family,  to  warn  the  minister  of  the  dreadfu. 
consequences  of  persevering  in  a  measure  which  the  people  o» 
Ireland  almost  unanimously  disliked" 

And  again — 

'He,  for  one,  would  assert  the  principles  of  the  glorious  revo- 
lution, and  boldly  declare  in  the  face  of  the  nation,  that  wheu 
the  Sovereign  power  dissolved  the  compact  that  existed  between 
the  government  and  the  pecple,  that  moment  the  right  of  resis- 
tance accrues.  t 

"  Whether  it  would  be  pnident  in  the  people  to  avail  them- 
selves of  that  right,  would  be  another  question.  But  if  a  legis- 
lative union  were  forced  on  the  country,  against  the  will  of  its 
inhabitants,  it  would  be  a  nullity,  and  resistance  to  it  would  be 
a  struggle  against  usurpation,  and  not  a  resistance  against  law." 

May  I  be  permitted  just  to  observe,  how  much  more  violent 
this  agitator  of  the  year  1800,  than  we  poor  and  timid  agitators 
of  the  year  1813.  When  did  we  talk  of  resistance  being  a 
question  of  prudence  ?  Shame  upon  the  men  who  call  us  in- 
temperate, and  yet  remember  their  own  violence. 

But,  gentlemen,  is  the  Attorney -General  at  liberty  to  change 
the  nature  of  things  with  his  own  official  and  professional  pro- 
spects ?  I  am  ready  to  admit  that  he  receives  thousands  of 
p  junds  by  the  year  of  the  public  monies,  in  his  office  of  Attor- 
ney-General— thousands  from  the  Crown-Solicitor — thousands, 
for  doing  little  work,  from  ihe  Custom-house ;  but  does  all  thie 
public  booty  with  which  he  is  loaded,  alter  the  nature  of  things, 
r  prevent  tbat  from  being  a  deceitful  measure,  brought  about 
oy  artful  and  treacherous  means,  against  which  Mr.  Saurin,  iu 
ItSOO,  preached  the  holy  doctrine  01  insurrection,  sounded  tht 
tocsm  of  resistance,  and  summoned  the  people  of  the  land  to 
battle  against  it,  as  against  usurpation  ? 

In  1800,  he  absolves  the  subjects  from  their  allegiance — if  the 
usurpation,  styled  the  Union,  will  be  carried — and  he,  this  iden- 
fioal  agitator,  in  1813,  indicts  a  man,  and  calls  him  a  ruffian,  for 
s-peaking  of  the  contrivers  of  the  Union,  not  as  usurpers,  but  as 
•mful,  treacherous  men.  Gentlemen,  pity  the  situation  in  which 
nt  has  placed  himself;  and  pray,  do  not  think  of  inflicting  p-.m- 
t;  upon  my  client  for  his  exfcrer*"> 


272  SEL20T  SPEECHES  OF 

It  has  been  coarsely  urged,  and  if.  will,  I  know,  be  urged  in  the 
splendid  misrepresentations  with  which  the  Solicitor-General  can 
so  well  distort  the  argument  he  is  unable  to  meet — it  will,  I  know, 
be  urged  by  him,  that  having  established  the  right  to  use  this 
last  paragraph — having  proved  that  the  predecessors  of  the  Duke 
were  oppressors  and  murderers,  and  profligate,  and  treacherous, 
irat  the  libel  is  only  aggravated  thereby,  as  the  first  paragraph 
compares  and  combines  the  Duke  of  Kichmond  with  the  worn; 
of  his  predecessors. 

This  is  a  most  fallacious  assertion  ;  and  here  it  is  that  I  could 
wish  I  had  to  address  a  dispassionate  and  an  enlightened  jury. 
ITou  are  not,  you  know  you  are  not,  of  the  selection  of  my  client. 
Had  he  the  poor  privilege  of  the  sheep-stealer,  there  are,  at  least, 
ten  of  you  who  should  never  have  been  on  his  jury.  But  the 
jury  he  would  select  is  not  such  a  jury  in  his  favour,  as  has  been 
impanelled  against  him  ;  he  desires  no  favour  ;  he  would  desire 
only  that  the  most  respectable  and  unprejudiced  of  your  city 
should  be  selected  for  his  trial ;  his  only  ambition  would  be  per- 
fect impartiality  ;  he  would  desire,  and  I  should  desire  for  him. 
a  jury  whose  verdict  of  conviction,  if  they  did  convict  h  u, 
would  produce  a  sense  of  error  and  feeling  more  painful  to  his 
mind  of  being  wrong  than  a  star- chamber  sentence. 

If  I  had  to  address  such  a  jury,  how  easily  could  I  show  them 
that  there  is  no  comparison — no  attempt  at  similitude.  On  the 
contrary,  the  object  of  the  writer  is  clearly  to  make  a  contrast. 
Grey  murdered  ;  but  he  was  an  able  statesman  ;  his  massacre 
was  a  crime  in  itself,  but  eminently  useful  to  his  employers ;  it 
contributed  mainly  to  secure  the  forfeiture  of  the  overgrown  tt-r 
ritorivij  of  the  House  of  Desmond.  Kssox  was  a  murdeier,  but 
uis  extreme  of  vico  was  accompanied  l»y  great  military  services; 
he  was  principally  instrumental  in  effectuating  the  conquest  vi 
Ireland — even  ids  crimes  served  the  cause  of  his  royal  mistress, 
und  the  territory  of  the  slaughtered  O'Nial  became  shire  land  ; 
he  had  terrific  cruelty  to  answer  for,  but  he  could  give  it  some 
answer  in  the  splendour  and  solidity  of  his  services.  So  of 
Straff ord — he  was  an  eminent  oppressor,  but  he  wasalso eminently 
useful  to  his  royal  master. 

As  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  the  contrast  is  intended  to  be 
lOD'plete — he  has  neither  great  crimes  nor  great  virtues.  He 
did  not  murder,  like  Essex  and  Grey,  but  he  did  not  render  any 
splendid  services.  In  short,  his  administration  has  been  directly 
the  reverse  of  these.  It  has  been  marked  by  errors  and  not 
crime*.  It  has  not  displayed  talents  «*  thtv  did  ;  and  it  1ms  , 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.I*.  273 

ing  features  as  they  had.  Such  is  the  fair,  the  rational,  am! 
the  just  construction  which  a  fair,  rational,  and  just  jury  would 
put  upon  it. 

Indeed,  the  Attorney-General  seems  to  £eel  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  resort  to  other  topics,  in  order  to  induce  you  to  con- 
vict upon  this  part  of  the  case.  He  tells  you  that  this  is  the 
second  time  that  the  Duke  of  Richmond  has  been  called  a  mur- 
derer. Gentlemen,  in  this  indictment  there  is  no  allegation  that 
the  Duke  is  styled  a  murderer  by  this  publication  ;  if  there  had, 
he  should  be  readily  acquitted,  even  for  the  variance ;  and  when 
the  Attorney-General  resorts  to  Barry's  case,  he  does  it  to  inflame 
your  passions,  and  mislead  your  understandings — and  then  what 
has  the  Irish  Magazine  to  do  with  this  trial? 

Walter  Cox,  with  his  Irish  Magazine,  is  as  good  a  Protestant 
as  the  king's  Attorney-General,  and  probably  quite  as  sincere  in 
the  profession  of  that  religion,  though  by  no  means  as  much  dis- 
posed to  persecute  those  who  differ  from  him  in  religious  belief. 
Indeed,  if  he  were  a  persecutor  of  his  countrymen,  he  would  not 
be  where  he  is — in  prison  ;  he  would  probably  enjoy  a  full  share 
of  the  public  plunder,  and  which  is  now  lavished  on  the  stupid 
journals  in  the  pay  of  the  Castle — from  the  versatile,  venal,  and 
verbose  correspondent,  to  the  equally  dull  and  corrupt  Dublin 
Journal. 

It  is,  however,  not  true,  that  he  is  in  gaol  because  he  published 
what  is  called  a  libel.  The  Attorney-General  talked  with  a  gloat- 
ing pleasure  of  the  miseries  poor  Watty  Cox  endures  in  gaol — • 
miseries  that  seem  to  give  poignancy  and  zest  to  the  enjoyments 
of  his  prosecutor.  I  will  make  him  happy ;  let  him  return  from 
this  court  to  his  luxuries,  and  when  he  finds  himself  at  his  table, 
surrounded  with  every  delicacy,  and  every  profusion,  remember 
that  his  prisoner  Walter  Cox  is  starving.  I  envy  him  not  this 
relish,  but  I  cannot  suffer  him  to  mislead  you.  Cox  is  not  in 
goal  because  he  published  a  libel ;  he  is  there  because  he  is  poor. 
His  time  of  imprisonment  expired  last  February,  but  he  was  con- 
demned to  pay  a  fine  of  .£300,  and  having  no  money,  he  ha* 
since  remained  in  goal.  It  is  his  poverty,  therefore,  and  not 
bis  crime,  that  detains  him  within  the  fangs  of  the  Attorney- 
General — if,  indeed,  there  be  any  greater  crime  in  society  than 
being  poor. 

And,  next,  the  Attorney-General  makes  a  beautiful  eulogium 
on  Magna  Charta.  There  we  agree.  I  should,  indeed,  prefer 
seeing  the  principles  of  that  great  charter  called  into  practical 
effect,  to  hearing  any  palinode  however  beautiful,  said  or  sung 


274  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

on  its  merits.  But  what  recommendation  can  Magna  CharU 
have  for  poor  Cox  ?  That  charter  of  liberty  expressly  provides, 
that  no  man  shall  be  fined  beyond  what  he  can  pay.  A  very 
simple  and  natural  provision  agfcinst  political  severity.  But  Cox 
is  fined  £300,  when  he  is  not  worth  a  single  shilling.  He  appealed 
to  this  court  for  relief,  and  quotes  Magna  Charta.  Your  lordship 
was  not  pleased  to  give  him  any  relief.  He  applies  to  the  Court 
of  Exchequer,  and  that  Court,  after  hearing  the  Attorney-Gene- 
ral against  him,  finds  itself  unable  to  give  any  relief ;  and,  after 
all  this,  the  unfortunate  man  is  to  be  tantalized  with  hearing  that 
the  Attorney-General  contrived  to  couple  his  case  with  the  praise 
j>f  the  great  charter  of  liberty — a  most  unlucky  coincidence— 
almost  enough  to  drive  him,  in  whose  person  that  charter  is  view 
lated,  into  a  state  of  insanity. 

Poor  Watty  Cox  is  a  coarse  fellow,  and,  I  think,  he  would  be 
apt  to  reply  to  that  praise  in  the  profane  and  contemptuous 
rhyme  of  Cromwell ;  most  assuredly  he  has  no  reason  to  treat 
this  useless  law  with  great  reverence.  It  would,  indeed,  appear 
as  if  the  prosecutor  eulogized  Magna  Charta  only  to  give  more 
brilliancy  to  his  triumph,  which  he  has  obtained  in  the  persou 
of  poor  Cox  over  it. 

The  next  topic  of  the  Attorney-General's  triumphant  abuse 
was  the  book  entitled,  "The  Statement  of  the  Penal  laws."  He 
called  it  a  convicted  book.  He  exulted  that  the  publisher  was 
in  prison  ;  he  traduced  the  author,  and  he  distorted  and  misre- 
presented the  spirit  and  meaning  of  that  book.  As  to  the  pub- 
lisher, he  is,  I  admit,  in  prison.  The  Attorney-General  has  had 
the  pleasure  of  tearing  a  respectable  citizen,  of  irreproachable 
character  and  conduct,  from  his  wife  and  the  little  children  who 
were  rendered  comfortable  by  his  honest,  persevering  industry, 
md  he  has  immured  him  in  a  dungeon.  I  only  congratulate  him 
ju  his  victory. 

As  to  the  author,  he  is  just  the  reverse  of  what  the  Attorney- 
General  would  wish  him  to  be ;  he  is  a  man  of  fortune;  he  is  an 
able  lawyer — a  professional  scholar,  an  accomplished  gentleman 
— a  sincere  friend  to  his  country,  which  he  has  ornamented  and 
served.  As  to  the  book,  it  is  really  ludicrous  to  an  extreme  de- 
gree of  comicality  to  call  it  a  convicted  book.  There  are  about 
400  pages  in  the  work :  it  contains  an  elaborate,  unexaggerated, 
and,  I  think,  softened  detail  of  the  laws  which  aggrieve  the  Oa- 
!  holies  of  Ireland,  and  of  the  practical  results  of  those  laws.  Such 
a  system,  to  which  the  Attorney-General  is  wedded,  as  much  as 
fo  his  own  emolument,  must  have  excited  no  small  share  of  irri- 


DANIEL  O'CONNEI.L,  ESQ.,  XP.  275 

tat  ion  in  his  mind.  It  produced  a  powerful  sensation  on  the 
entire  party  to  which  he  belongs.  Abundant  attempts  were  made 
to  answer  it :  they  were  paid  for  out  of  the  public  money  ;  they 
totally  failed,  and  yet  if  the  book  had  been  erroneous,  there  couk7 
be  nothing  easier  than  its  confutation. 

If  that  book  had  been  mistaken  in  matter  of  law,  or  exagge- 
rated in  matter  of  fact,  its  refutation  would  have  been  found, 
where  we  have  found  and  proved  its  perfect  accuracy,  in  tl.e 
statute  book  and  in  the  daily  experience  of  every  individual  ik 
Ireland.  Truth,  you  are  told  by  the  prosecutor,  is  no  defence  in 
case  of  libel ;  but  certainly  this  book  was  much  the  more  pro- 
voking for  being  true ;  and  yet,  gentlemen,  with  the  most  power- 
ful incentives  to  prosecute  this  book,  the  Attorney-General  has 
been  compelled,  most  reluctantly,  to  space  every  word  of  the  400 
pages  of  text  and  margin,  and  has  been  unable  to  find  any  pre- 
text for  an  indictment,  save  in  a  paltry  note  containing  eight 
lines  and  a  half,  and  three  marks  of  admiration. 

My  lords,  I  address  your  lordships  particularly  on  the  three 
notes  of  admiration,  because  they  formed  a  prominent  ground 
in  your  lordship's  learned  argument,  when  you  decided  that  the 
passage  was  a  libel  per  se.  Yes,  gentlemen,  admire  again,  I  pray 
you,  the  solidity  and  brilliancy  of  our  law,  in  which  three  marks 
of  admiration  are  of  wonderful  efficacy  in  sending  a  man  to  pri- 
son. But  with  the  exception  of  the  note  of  eight  and  a  half 
lines,  the  book  has  borne  the  severest  criticism  of  fact  and  of 
law.  It  has  defied,  and  continues  to  defy,  the  present  Attorney- 
General  and  his  well-assorted  juries  ;  and,  as  to  the  note  which 
he  indicted,  it  contained  only  a  remark  on  the  execution  of  a 
man  who,  whether  innocent  or  guilty,  was  tried  in  such  a  man- 
ner, that  a  gentleman  of  the  Irish  bar,  his  counsel,  threw  up  his 
orief  in  disgust ;  and  when  the  judge  who  presided  at  the  trial 
ordered  the  counsel  to  remain  and  defend  Barry,  that  counsel 
swore,  in  this  court,  that  he  rejected  the  judge's  mandate  with 
contempt. 

What  a  mighty  triumph  was  the  conviction  proved  against 
this  note  on  Barry's  case  !  And  may  one  be  permitted  mourn 
fully  to  ask,  whether  the  indignation,  which  might  have  pro 
duced  indiscretion  in  speaking  of  Barry's  fate,  was  a  very  cul- 
pable quality  in  a  feeling  mind,  prone  to  detest  the  horrors  with 
which  human  blood  is  sometimes  shed  under  the  forms  and 
mockery  of  trial  ?  But  that  conviction,  although  it  will  erase 
the  note,  will  not  stay  the  demand  which  an  intelligent  public 
iijuke  for  this  valuable  work.  Already  have  two  valuable  r*U 


276  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

tions  of  it  been  sold,  and  a  third  edition  is  loudly  called  for,  and 
about  to  appear. 

What,  in  the  meantime,  has  l>een  tlie  fate  of  the  answers?  I 
see  two  booksellers  amongst  you  ;  they  will  tell  you  that  the 
answers  are  recollected  only  by  the  loss  they  have  produced  to 
them,  and  by  the  cumbering  of  their  shelves.  Such  is  the  re- 
sult of  the  loyal  triumph  of  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Richmond's 
administration.  May  such  in  every  age  be  the  fruits  of  every 
prosecutor  of  free  discussion,  and  of  the  assertion  of  political 
truth  ! 

I  have  followed  the  Attorney-General  through  his  discussion 
npon  Walter  Cox.  and  "  The  Statement  of  the  Penal  laws,"  with- 
out being  able  exactly  to  conjecture  his  motives  for  introducing 
them.  As  to  Cox,  it  appears  to  be  the  mere  gratifi cation  of  his 
delight  at  the  misery  to  which  that  unfortunate  man  is  reduced. 
As  to  "the  book,"  I  can  only  conjecture  that  his  wish  is  to  in- 
sinuate to  you  that  the  author  of  "the  book"  aud  of  this  publi- 
cation is  the  same.  If  that  were  his  design,  it  may  be  enough 
to  say,  that  he  has  not  proved  the  fact,  and,  therefore,  in  fair- 
ness, it  ought  not  at  all  to  influence  your  decision.  1  go  further 
and  tell  him,  that  the  fact  is  not  so  ;  that  the  author  is  a  dif- 
ferent person  •  that  the  writer  of  this  alleged  hbel  is  a  Protestant 
— a  man  of  fortune — a  man  of  that  rank  and  estimation,  that  even 
the  Attorney- General,  were  I  to  announce  his  name,  which  my 
client  will  never  do,  or  suffer  his  advocate  to  do,  that  name  would 
txtort  respect,  even  from  the  Attorney-General  himself. 

He  has.  in  his  usual  fashion,  calumniated  the  spirit  and  object 
of  "  The  Statement  of  the  Penal  Laws."  lie  says  it  imputes 
murder  and  every  other  crime  to  persons  in  high  stations,  as  re- 
sulting from  their  being  Protestants.  He  says  that  it  attributes 
to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  the  committing  murder  on  a  Catholic, 
because  he  himself  is  a  Protestant.  Gentlemen,  I  wish  you  had 
read  that  book ;  if  you  did,  it  would  be  quite  unnecessary  for 
rne  to  contradict  those  assertions  of  the  Attorney-General.  Jn 
fact,  there  never  were  assertions  more  unfounded :  that  book  con- 
tains nothing  that  could  warrant  his  description  of  it ;  on  the 
contrary,  the  book  seeks  to  establish  this  position,  that  the  grie- 
vances which  the  Irish  Catholics  suffer,  are  not  attributable  to  the 
Protestant  religion — that  they  are  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of 
that  religion,  and  are  attributable,  simply  aud  singly,  to  the 
.spirit  of  monopoly,  and  tone  of  superiority,  generated  and  fo» 
tercd  by  the  system  of  exclusion,  upon  which  the  Penal  Code 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  277 

Tli«-  author  of  that  book  is  confessedly  a  Catholic ;  yet  the 
book  states,  and  the  Attorney-General  heard  the  passage  twice 
read  in  this  court,  that  "if  Roman  Catholics  were  placed,  by  uujusi 
law  s,  in  the  situation  in  which  the  Irish  Protestants  now  are  placed, 
tli  y  would  oppress  and  exclude  precisely  as  the  Protestants  no\\ 
.40."  In  short,  his  statement  and  reasonings  are  founded  oc 
diis.  that  it  is  unjust  to  give  any  religion  exclusive  political  ad- 
vantages ;  because,  whatever  that  religion  may  be,  the  result 
will  necessarily  prove  oppressive  and  insulting  towards  the  less 
favoured  sect.  He  argues  not  exclusively  against  any  particular 
religion,  but  from  natural  causes  operating  on  human  beings. 
His  book  may  be  a  libel  on  human  nature,  but  it  is  no  more 
-L  libel  on  the  Protestant  than  on  the  Catholic  religion.  It  draws 
no  other  inference  than  this,  that  Catholics  and  Protestants, 
raider  similar  circumstances,  would  act  precisely  in  the  same  way. 

Having  followed  the  prosecutor  through  this  weary  digression. 
1  return  to  the  next  sentence  of  this  publication.  Yet  I  cannot 
— I  must  detain  you  still  a  little  longer  from  it,  whilst  I  suppli- 
cate your  honest  indignation,  if  in  your  resentments  there  be 
uught  of  honesty,  against  the  mode  in  which  the  Attorney-Gene- 
ral has  introduced  the  name  of  our  aged  and  afflicted  sovereign. 
lie  says,  this  is  a  libel  on  the  king,  because  it  imputes  to  him  a 
selection  of  improper  and  criminal  chief  governors.  Gentlemen, 
this  is  the  very  acme  of  servile  doctrine.  It  is  the  most  uncon- 
stitutional doctrine  that  could  be  uttered  :  it  supposes  that  the 
sovereign  is  responsible  for  the  acts  of  his  servants,  whilst  the  con- 
stitution declares  that  the  king  can  do  no  wrong,  and  that  even 
for  his  personal  acts,  his  servants  shall  be  personally  responsible. 
Thus,  the  Attorney- General  reverses  for  you  the  constitution  in 
theory;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  where  can  be  found,  in  this  publi- 
cation, any,  even  the  slightest  allusion  to  his  Majesty.  The 
theory  is  against  the  Attorney-General,  and  yet,  contrary  to  the 
fact,  and  against  the  theory,  he  seeks  to  enlist  another  prejudice 
of  yours  against  Mr.  Magee. 

Prejudice  did  I  call  it  1  oh,  no  !  it  is  no  prejudice  ;  that  sen- 
timent which  combines  respect  with  affection  for  my  aged  sove- 
reign, suffering  under  a  calamity  with  which  heaven  has  willed 
to  visit  him,  but  which  is  not  due  to  any  default  of  his.  There 
never  was  a  sentiment  that  I  should  wish  to  see  more  cherished 
— more  honoured.  To  you  the  king  may  appear  an  object  o: 
respect ;  to  his  Catholic  subjects  he  is  one  of  veneration ;  t« 
them  he  has  been  abountifal  benefactor.  To  the  utter  disregard 
of  your  aldermen  of  Skinner's-alley,  and  the  more  pompous  mag- 


278  SELECT  SPEECHES  OK 

nets  of  William -street,  his  Majesty  procured,  at  bis  earnest  soli- 
citation from  parliament,  the  restoration  of  much  of  our  liberties 
He  disregarded  your  anti-Popery  petitions.  He  treated  with 
calm  indifference  the  ebullitions  of  your  bigotry  ;  and  I  owe  to 
him  that  1  have  the  honour  of  standing  in  the  proud  situation 
from  which  I  am  able,  if  not  to  protect  my  client,  at  least  to  pour 
the  indignant  torrent  of  my  discourse  against  his  enemies,  and 
those  of  his  country. 

The  publication  to  which  I  now  recal  you,  goes  to  describe  the 
effects  of  the  facts  which  I  have  shown  you  to  have  been  drawn 
from  the  undisputed  and  authentic  history  of  former  times.  I 
have,  I  hope,  convinced  you,  that  neither  Leland  nor  Hume 
could  have  been  indicted  for  stating  those  facts,  and  it  would  be 
a  very  strange  perversion  of  principle,  which  would  allow  you 
to  convict  Mr.  Magee  for  that  which  has  been  stated  by  other 
writers,  not  only  without  punishment,  but  with  applausa. 

That  part  of  the  paragraph  which  relates  to  the  present  day  is 
in  these  words  : — 

"  Since  that  period  the  complexion  of  the  times  has  changed 
— the  country  has  advanced — it  has  outgrown  submission,  find 
some  forms,  at  least,  must  now  be  observed  towards  the  people" 

The  system,  however,  is  still  the  same  ;  it  is  the  old  plaj 
with  new  decorations,  presented  in  an  age  somewhat  more  en 
lightened ;  the  principle  of  government  remains  unaltered — n 
principle  of  exclusion  which  debars  the  majority  of  the  people 
from  the  enjoyment  of  those  privileges  that  are  possessed  by  the 
minority,  and  which  must,  therefore,  maintain  itself  by  all  those 
measures  necessary  for  a  government  founded  on  injustice." 

The  prosecutor  insists  that  this  is  the  most  libellous  part  of 
the  entire  publication.  I  am  glad  he  does  so  ;  because  if  there 
be  amongst  you  a  single  particle  of  discrimination,  you  cannot 
fail  to  perceive  that  this  is  not  a  libel — that  this  paragraph  can- 
aot  constitute  any  crime.  It  states  that  the  present  is  a  system 
ol  exclusion.  Surely,  it  is  no  crime  to  say  so  ;  it  is  what  you 
all  say.  It  is  what  the  Attorney-General  himself  gloried  in. 
This  is,  said  he,  exclusively  a  Protestant  government.  Mr.  Magee 
and  he  are  agreed.  Mr.  Magee  adds>  that  a  principle  of  exclu- 
sion, on  account  of  religion,  is  founded  on  injustice.  Gentlemen, 
if  a  Protestant  were  to  be  excluded  from  any  temporal  advan- 
tages upon  the  score  of  his  religion,  would  not  you  say  that  th* 
principle  upon  which  he  was  excluded  was  unjust?  That  is  pre- 
cisely what  Mr.  Magee  says ;  for  the  principle  which  excludo 
Uie  Catholic  in  Ireland,  would  exclude  the  Protestant  in  Spain 


DAWIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.F.  27J 


and  in  Portugal,  and  then  you  clearly  admit  its  justice.  So 
really,  you  would  condemn  yourselves,  and  your  own  opinions, 
kiid  the  right  to  be  a  Protestant  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  if  you 
condemn  this  sentiment. 

But  I  would  have  you  further  observe  that  this  is  no  more 
Jian  the  discussion  of  an  abstract  principle  of  government  ;  it 
\rraigns  not  the  conduct  of  any  individual,  or  of  any  adminis- 
tration ;  it  only  discusses  and  decides  upon  the  moral  fitness  of 
;»  certain  theory,  on  which  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  Ir^ 
laud  has  been  conducted.  Jf  this  be  a  crime,  we  are  all  crimi- 
nals j  for  this  question,  whether  it  be  just  or  not  to  exclude  from 
power  and  office  a  class  of  the  people  for  religion,  is  the  subject 
of  daily  —  of  hourly  discussion.  The  Attorney-General  says  it 
is  quite  just;  I  proclaim  it  to  be  unjust  —  obviously  unjust.  At 
aE.  public  meetings,  in  all  private  companies,  this  point  is  de- 
cided different  ways,  according  to  the  temper  and  the  interest  oi 
individuals.  Indeed,  it  is  but  too  much  the  topic  of  every  man's 
discourse  ;  and  the  gaols  and  the  barracks  of  the  country  would 
not  contain  the  hundredth  part  of  tnose  whom  the  Attorney- 
General  would  have  to  crowd  them,  if  it  be  penal  to  -call  the 
principle  of  exclusion  unjust.  In  this  court,  without  the  least 
danger  of  interruption  or  reproof,  I  proclaim  the  injustice  of  that 
principle. 

I  will  then  ask  whether  it  be  lawful  to  print  that  which  it  is 
not  unlawful  to  proclaim  in  the  face  of  a  court  of  justice  1  And 
above  all,  I  will  ask  whether  it  can  be  criminal  to  discuss  the  ab- 
stract principles  of  government  ?  Is  the  theory  of  the  law  a 
prohibited  subject  ?  I  had  understood  that  there  was  no  right 
BO  clear  and  undoubted  as  that  of  discussing  abstract  and  theo- 
retic principles,  and  their  applicability  to  practicable  purposes. 
For  the  first  time  do  I  hear  this  disputed  ;  and  now  see  what  it 
is  the  Attorney-  General  prohibits.  He  insists  upon  punishing 
Mr.  Magee  j  first,  because  he  accuses  his  administration  of  "  er- 
rors ;"  secondly,  because  he  charges  them  with  not  being  distin- 
guished for  "  talents  ;"  thirdly,  because  he  cannot  discover  theij 
"  striking  features  ;"  and  fourthly,  because  he  discusses  an  "ab 
stract  principle  !" 

This  is  quite  intelligible  —  this  is  quite  tangible,  1  begin  to 
understand  what  the  Attorney-  General  means  by  the  liberty  o, 
the  Press  ;  it  means  a  prohibition  of  printing  anything  except 
praise,  respecting  "the  errors,  the  talents,  or  the  striking  feature^' 
of  any  administration,  and  of  discussing  any  abstract 
of  government.  Thus  the  forbidden  subjects  are  ei-rors, 


280  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

striking  features,  and  principles.  Neither  the  theory  of  the 
government  nor  its  practices  are  to  be  discussed ;  you  cmy,  in- 
deed, praise  them  ;  you  may  call  the  Attorney- General  "tae  best 
and  wisest  of  men ;"  you  may  call  his  lordship  the  most  learned 
and  impartial  of  all  possible  chief  justices ;  you  may,  if  you 
have  powers  of  visage  sufficient,  call  the  Lord  Lieutenant  the  beet 
of  all  imaginable  governors.  That,  gentlemen,  is  the  boasted 
liberty  of  the  Press — the  liberty  that  exists  in  CoiAstantinople — 
the  liberty  of  applying  the  most  fulsome  and  unfounded  flattery, 
out  not  one  word  of  censure  or  reproof. 

Here  is  an  idol  worthy  of  the  veneration  of  the  Attorney- 
General.  Yes ;  he  talked  of  his  veneration  for  the  liberty  of  the 
Press ;  he  also  talked  of  its  being  a  protection  to  the  people 
against  the  government.  Protection  !  not  against  errors — not 
against  the  want  of  talents  or  striking  features — nor  against  the 
effort  of  any  unjust  principle — protection  !  against  what  is  it  to 
protect  ?  Did  he  not  mock  you  ?  Did  he  not  plainly  and  pal- 
pably delude  you,  when  he  talked  of  the  protection  of  the  Press? 
Yes.  To  his  inconsistencies  and  contradictions  Le  calls  on  you 
to  sacrifice  your  consciences ;  and  because  you  are  no-Poperj 
men,  and  distributers  of  Bibles,  and  aldermen  of  SkinuerValley, 
and  Protestant  petitioners,  he  requires  of  you  to  brand  your 
souls  with  perjury.  You  cannot  escape  it ;  it  is,  it  must  oe  per- 
jury to  find  a  verdict  for  a  man  who  gravely  admits  that  the 
liberty  of  the  Press  is  recognized  by  law,  and  that  it  is  a  vene- 
rable object,  and  yet  calls  for  your  verdict  upon  the  gr6unc]  that 
there  is  no  such  thing  in  existence  as  that  which  he  has  admitted, 
that  the  law  recognises,  and  that  he  himself  venerates. 

Clinging  to  the  fond  but  faint  hope  ',hat  you  are  not  capable 
of  sanctioning,  by  your  oaths,  so  monstrous  an  ;^icon.sisteucy,  I 
ead  you  to  the  next  sentence  upon  this  record. 

"  Although  lii.s  Grace  does  not  appear  to  know  what  are  the  qualities 
necessary  for  a  judge  in  Canada,  or  for  an  aid-de-canip  in  waiting1  at  a 
court,  he  surely  cannot  be  ignorant  what  are  requisites  tor  a  lord  lieu- 
fenaut." 

This  appears  to  be  a  very  innocent  sentence ;  yet  the  Attorney. 
General,  the  venerator  of  that  protection  of  the  people  against  a 
l-ad  government — the  liberty  of  the  Press — tells  you  that  it  is  a 
gross  libel  to  impute  so  much  ignorance  to  hi*  Grace.  As  to  the 
aid-de-camp,  gentlemen,  whether  he  be  selected  for  the  brilliancy 
of  his  spurs,  the  polish  of  his  boots,  or  the  precise  angle  of  his 
cocked  hat,  are  grave  considerations  which  1  refer  to  you.  De- 
ride upoii  thfcjve  atrocities,  1  pray  you.  But  as  to  the  judge  in 


DANIEL  O'COXSELL,  ESQ.,  M.F.  281 

Canada,  it  cannot  be  any  reproach  to  his  Grace  to  be  ignorant  of 
Kis  qualifications.  The  old  French  law  prevails  in  Canada,  and 
there  is  not  a  lawyer  at  the  Irish  bar,  except,  perhaps,  the  At- 
torney-General, who  is  sufficiently  acquainted  with  that  law  to 
know  how  far  any  man  may  be  fit  for  the  station  of  judge  iu 
Canada. 

If  this  be  an  ignorance  without  reproach  in  Irish  lawyers,  and 
if  there  be  any  reproach  in  it,  I  feel  it  not,  whilst  I  avow  that 
ignorance — yet,  surely  it  is  absurd  to  torture  it  into  a  calumny 
against  the  Lord  Lieutenant — a  military  man,  and  no  lawyer. 
I  doubt  whether  it  would  be  a  libel  if  my  client  had  said,  that 
his  Grace  was  ignorant  of  the  qualities  necessary  for  a  judge  iu 
Ireland — for  a  chief  judge,  my  lord.  He  has  not  said  so,  how- 
ever, gentlemen,  and  true  or  false,  that  is  not  now  the  question 
under  consideration.  We  are  in  Canada  at  present,  gentlemei* 
in  a  ludicrous  search  for  a  libel  in  a  sentence  of  no  great  point 
or  meaning.  If  you  are  sapient  enough  to  suspect  that  it  con- 
tains a  libel,  your  doubt  can  only  arise  from  not  comprehending 
it ;  and  that,  I  own,  is  a  doubt  difficult  to  remove.  But  I  mock 
you  when  I  talk  of  this  insignificant  sentence. 

1  shall  read  the  next  paragraph  at  full  length.  It  is  connected 
with  the  Canadian  sentence  : — 

"  Therefore,  were  an  appeal  to  be  made  to  him  in  a  dispassionate 
and  sober  moment,  we  might  candidly  confess  that  the  Irish  woulil  no* 
foe  disappointed  in  their  hopes  of  a  successor,  though  they  would  behold 
the  same  smiles,  experience  the  same  sincerity,  and  witness  the  Bam« 
disposition  towards  conciliation. 

"  What,  though  they  were  deceived  in  1795,  and  found  the  mildness 
of  a  f  'itsvriliiam  a  false  omen  of  concord  ;  though  they  were  duped  it 
)  800,  and  found  that  the  privileges  of  the  Catholics  did  not  follow  th« 
extinction  of  the  parliament,  yet,  at  his  departure,  he  will,  no  doubt, 
rotate  good  grounds  for  future  expectation ;  that  his  administration  was 
not  the  time  for  Emancipation, but  that  the  season  is  fast  approaching; 
that  there  were  "existing  circumstances/*  but  that  now  the  people  may 
rely  upon  the  virtues  even  of  an  hereditary  Prince ;  that  they  should 
continue  to  worship  the  false  idol ;  that  their  cries,  must,  at  least,  be 
heard  ;  and  that,  if  he  has  not  complied,  it  is  only  because  he  has  not 
-i>oken.  In  short,  his  Grace  will  in  uo  way  vary  from  the  uniform  con- 
duct observed  by  most  of  his  predecessors,  first  preaching  to  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people,  then  playing  upon  their  credulity. 

He  cajze  over  ignorant — he  soon  became  prejudiced,  and  then  he  be- 
came intemperate.  He  takes  from  tlie  people  their  money  ;  he  eacs  in 
lh»'ir  bread,  and  drinks  of  their  wine ;  iu  return,  he  gives  them  a  bad 
government,  and,  at  his  departure,  leaves  them  more  distracted  thaa 
ever.  Ilia  Grace  commeuced  ids  reig'u  by  flattery,  he  coutin'ied  H  in 

T 


282  SBLEGT  SPEECHES  OF 

oily,  he  accompanied  it  with  violence,  and  he  will  conclude  it  witk 
falsehood." 

There  is  one  part  of  this  sentence,  for  which  I  most  respect- 
••'ill/  solicit  your  indulgence  and  pardon.  Be  not  exasperated 
with  us  for  talking  of  the  mildness  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  or  o{ 
his  administration.  But,  notwithstanding  the  violence  any 
praise  of  him  has  excited  amongst  you,  come  dispassionately,  I 
">ray  you,  to  the  consideration  of  the  paragraph.  Let  us  ab- 
struct  the  meaning  of  it  from  the  superfluous  words.  It  cer- 
ly  does  tell  you,  that  his  Grace  came  over  ignorant  of  Irish 
and  he  acquired  prejudices  upon  those  subjects,  and  he 
.ui«  become  intemperate.  Let  us  discuss  this  part  separately 
from  the  other  matter  suggested  by  the  paragraph!  in  question. 
•That  the  Duko  of  Richmond  came  over  to  Ireland  ignorant  of 
the  details  of  our  domestic  policy  cannot  be  matter  either  of 
surprise  or  of  any  reproach.  A  military  man  engaged  in  these 
pursuits  which  otherwise  occupy  persons  of  his  rank,  altogether 
unconnected  with  Ireland,  he  could  not  have  had  any  induce- 
ment to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  u  >tails  of  our  barbarous 
wrongs,  of  our  senseless  party  quarrels,  and  criminal  feuds  ;  he 
was  not  stimulated  to  examine  them  by  any  interest,  nor  could 
any  man  be  attracted  to  study  them  by  taste.  It  is,  therefore,  no 
censure  to  talk  of  his  ignorance — of  that  with  which  it  would 
be  absurd  to  expect  that  he  should  be  acquainted ;  and  the 
knowledge  of  which  would  neither  have  served,  nor  exalted,  nor 
amused  him. 

Then,  gentlemen,  it  is  said  he  became  "  prejudiced."  Preju- 
diced may  sound  harsh  in  your  ears  ;  but  you  are  not,  at  least 
you  ought  not,  to  decide  upon  the  sound — it  is  the  sense  of  tlio 
word  that  should  determine  you.  Now  what  is  the  sense  of  tiw 
vord  "  prejudice"  here  ?  It  means  the  having  adopted  precisely 
the  opinions  which  every  one  of  you  entertain.  By  "prejudice" 
the  writer  means,  and  can  mean,  nothing  but  such  sentiments  :w 
you  die  risk.  When  he  talks  of  prejudice,  he  intends  to  convey 
the  idea  that  the  Duke  took  up  the  opinion,  that  the  few  ought 
to  govern  the  many  in  Ireland  ;  that  there  ought  to  be  a  favoured 
ft  id  an  excluded  class  in  Ireland  ;  that  the  burdens  of  the  state 
ought  to  be  shared  equally,  but  its  benefits  conferred  on  a  few. 
Such  are  the  ideas  conveyed  by  the  word  prejudice  ;  and  I  fear 
losaly  ask  you,  is  it  a  crime  to  impute  to  his  Grace  these  notions 
.vhich  v-«w  yourselves  entertain?  Is  he  calumniated — is  he 
libelled,  \vlion  he  is  charged  with  concurring  with  you,  gentle- 
men of  the  jury  ?  Wiii  you,  by  a  verdict  of  conviction,  stamp 


DANIEL  O'CONNKLL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  283 

your  own  political  sentiments  with  the  seal  of  reprobation  ?  If 
you  convict  my  client,  you  do  this ;  you  decide  that  it  is  a  libel 
to  charge  any  man  with  those  doctrines  which  are  so  useful  to 
you  individually,  and  of  which  you  boast ;  or,  you  think  the 
opinions  just,  and  yet  tliat  it  is  criminal  to  charge  a  man  with 
those  just  opinions.  For  the  sake,  therefore,  of  consistency,  and 
is  an  approval  of  your  own  opinions,  I  call  on  you  for  a  verdict 
of  acquittal. 

I  need  not  detain  you  long  on  the  expression  "intemperate  / 
it  does  not  mean  anj  charge  of  excess  of  indulgence  in  any  en- 
joyment ;  it  is  not,  as  the  Attorney-General  suggested,  an  ac- 
tiisation  of  indulging  beyond  due  bounds  in  the  pleasures  of  the 
fable,  or  of  the  bottle  ;  it  does  not  allude,  as  the  Attorney-Gene- 
ral says,  to  midnight  orgies,  or  to  morning  revels.  I  admit — I 
rreely  admit — l.hat  an  allusion  of  that  kind  would  savour  of  libel, 
as  it  would  certainly  be  unnecessary  for  any  purpose  of  political 
aiscussion.  But  the  intemperance  here  spoken  of  is  mere  poli- 
tical intemperance ;  it  is  that  violence  which  every  man  of  a 
fervid  disposition  feels  in  support  of  his  political  opinions.  Nay 
the  more  pure  and  honest  any  man  may  be  in  the  adoption  v 
liis  opinions,  the  more  likely,  and  the  more  justifiable  will  he  b» 
in  that  ardent  support  of  them,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  in 
temperance. 

In  short,  although  political  intemperance  cannot  be  deemed 
by  cold  calculators  as  a  virtue,  yet  it  has  its  source  in  the  purest 
virtues  of  the  human  heart,  and  it  frequently  produces  the 
greatest  advantages  to  the  public.  How  would  it  be  possible  to 
overcome  the  many  obstacles  which  self-interest,  and  ignorance, 
and  passion  throw  in  the  way  of  improvement,  without  some  of 
that  ardour  of  temper  and  disposition  which  grave  men  call  in- 
temperance ?  And,  gentlemen,  are  not  your  opinions  as  deserv- 
ing of  warm  support  as  the  opinion  of  other  men ;  or  do  you 
feel  any  inherent  depravity  in  the  political  sentiments  which  the 
Duke  of  Richmond  has  adopted  from  you,  that  would  lender  him 
lepraved  or  degraded  by  any  violence  in  their  support  ?  You 
nave  no  alternative.  If  you  convict  my  client,  you  condemn, 
upon  your  oaths,  your  own  political  creed ;  and  declare  it  to 
be  a  libel  to  charge  any  man  with  energy  in  your  cause. 

If  you  are  not  disposed  to  go  this  length  of  political  inconsis- 
tency, and  if  you  have  determined  to  avoid  the  religious  incon- 
sistency of  perjuring  yourselves  for  the  good  and  glory  of  the 
Protestant  religion,  do,  I  pray  you,  examine  the  rest  of  this  para- 
tjraph,  and  see  whether  you  can,  by  anv  ingenuity,  detect  that 


284  MLECT  SPEECHES  OF 

nondescript  a  libel  in  it.  It  states  in  substance  this  :  that  tint 
udministration,  treading  in  the  steps  of  former  administrat  ions, 
preached  to  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  played  on  their 
credulity ,  and  that  it  will  end,  as  those  administrations  liave 
k'one,  in  some  flattering  prophecy,  paying  present  disappoint- 
ment with  the  coinage  of  delusive  hope.  That  this  administra- 
tion commenced,  as  usual,  with  preaching  to  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  was  neither  criminal  in  the  fact,  nor  can  it  be  unpleasant 
in  the  recital. 

It  is  the  immemorial  usage  of  all  administrations  and  of  all 
vtations,  to  commence  with  those  civil  professions  of  future  ex- 
tellence  of  conduct  which  are  called,  and  not  unaptly,  "  preacft- 
mg  to  ilt&  confidence  of  the  people"  The  very  aetors  are  generally 
sincere  at  this  stage  of  the  political  farce  ;  and  it  is  not  insinu- 
ated that  this  administration  was  not  as  candid  on  this  subject 
as  the  best  of  its  predecessors.  The  playing  on  the  credulity  oj 
the  people  is  the  ordinary  state  trick.  You  recollect  how  angry 
many  of  you  were  with  his  Grace  for  his  Munster  tour,  shortly 
after  his  arrival  here.  You  recollect  how  he  checked  the  Mayor 
of  Cork  for  proposing  the  new  favourite  Orange  toast ;  wliat 
liberality  he  displayed  to  Popish  traders  and  bankers  in  Limerick ; 
and  how  he  returned  to  the  capital,  leaving  behind  him  the  im- 
pression that  the  no- Popery  men  had  been  mistaken  in  their 
choice,  and  that  the  Duke  of  Richmond  was  the  ene*my  of  every 
bigotry — the  friend  to  every  liberality !  Was  he  sincere,  gentle- 
men of  the  jury,  or  was  this  one  of  those  innocent  devices  which 
are  called — playing  on  the  people's  credulity  ?  Was  he  sincere  I 
A.sk  his  subsequent  conduct.  Have  there  been  since  that  time  any 
other  or  different  toasts  cheered  in  his  presence  ?  Has  the  name 
•>f  Ireland  and  of  Irishmen  been  profaned  by  becoming  the  sport 
jf  the  warmth  excited  by  the  accompaniment  to  these  toasts  ? 
Some  individuals  of  you  could  inform  me.  I  see  another  dignitary 
•tf  your  corporation  here  (said  Mr.  O'Connell,  turning  round 
pointedly  to  the  lord  mayor) — I  see  a  civic  dignitary  here,  who 
could  tell  of  the  toasts  of  these  days  or  nights,  and  would  not 
be  at  a  loss  to  apply  the  right  name — if  he  were  not  too  prudent 
is  well  as  too  polite  to  do  so — to  that  innocent  affectation  of 
liberality  which  distinguished  his  Grace's  visit  to  the  south  of 
Ireland.  It  was,  indeed,  a  play  upon  our  credulity,  but  it  can 
be  no  libel  to  speak  of  it  as  such  ;  for  see  the  situation  in  \vhicb 
you  would  place  his  Grace ;  you  know  he  affected  conciliation 
uiid  perfect  neutrality  between  our  parties  at  fin*t ;  you  know 
Lt;  lias  since  taken  a  marked  an/i  <*  -Mod  part  with  you- 


DAAIEL  O'CONNKLu,  KS<i.,    M  P  285 

Surely  you  are  not  disposed  to  call  this  a  crime,  as  it  were,  to 
convict  his  Grace  of  duplicity,  and  of  a  vile  hypocrisy.  No 
gentlemen,  1  entreat  of  you  not  to  calumniate  the  Duke  ;  c&\ 
*his  conduct  a  mere  play  on  the  credulity  of  a  people  p°aily  de 
oeived — innocent  in  its  intention,  and  equally  void  of  guilt  i:i 
its  description.  Do  not  attach  to  those  words  a  meaning  which 
v/ould  prove  that  you  yourselves  condemned,  not  so  much  tho 
writer  of  them,  as  the  man  who  gave  colour  and  countenance  to 
this  assertion.  Besides,  gentlemen,  what  is  your  liberty  of  tha 
Press  worth,  if  it  be  worthy  of  a  dungeon  to  assert  that  the 
public  credulity  has  been  played  upon  ?  The  liberty  of  the 
Press  would  be  less  than  a  dream,  a  shadow,  if  every  such  phrase 
be  a  libel. 

But  the  Attorney- General  triumphantly  tells  you  that  there 
must  be  a  libel  in  this  paragraph,  because  it  ends  with  a  charge 
of  falsehood.  May  I  ask  you  to  take  the  entire  paragraph  to- 
gether ?  Common  sense  and  your  duty  require  you  to  do  so. 
You  will  then  perceive  that  this  charge  of  falsehood  is  no  more 
than  an  opinion,  that  the  administration  of  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond will  terminate  precisely  as  that  of  many  of  hio  predecessors 
has  done,  by  an  excuse  for  the  past — a  flattering  and  fallacious 
promise  for  the  future.  Why,  you  must  all  of  you  have  seen,  a 
short  time  since,  an  account  of  a  public  dinner  in  London,  given 
by  persons  styling  themselves  "  Friends  to  Religious  Liberty." 
At  that  dinner,  at  which  two  of  the  Royal  Dukes  attended,  there 
-verfl,  I  think,  no  less  than  four  or  five  noblemen  who  had  filled 
the  office  of  lord  lieutenant  of  Ireland.  Gentlemen,  at  this  din- 
ner, they  were  ardent  in  their  professions  of  kindness  towards  the 
Catholics  of  Ireland,  in  their  declarations  of  the  obvious  policy 
and  justice  of  conciliation  and  concession,  and  they  bore  ample 
testimony  to  our  sufferings  and  our  merits.  But  I  appeal  from 
their  present  declarations  to  their  past  conduct ;  they  are  no\t 
full  of  liberality  and  justice  to  us ;  yet,  I  speak  only  the  truth 
of  history,  when  I  say  that,  during  their  government  of  thi* 
country,  no  practical  benefits  resulted  from  all  this  wisdom  and 
dndness  of  sentiment ;  with  the  single  exception  of  Lord  Fitz- 
.cilliam,  not  one  of  them  even  attempted  to  do  any  good  to  the 
» 'iitholics,  or  to  Ireland. 

\VTiat  did  the  Duke  of  Bedford  do  for  us  1  Jtist  nothing 
Some  civility,  indeed,  in  words — some  playing  on  public  credu- 
lity— but  in  act  and  deed,  nothing  at  all.  What  did  Lord  Hard 
wicke  do  for  us?  Oh,  nothing,  or  rather  less  than  nothing  ;  his 
administration  here  was.  in  that  respect.  *>•  kind  of  negative 


28G  SELKCT  dPKECHE*  OF 

qualify;  ir  was  cold;  harsh,  and  forbidding  to  the  Cathciich  ;  le- 
nient, mild,  and  encouraging,  to  the  Orange  faction  ;  the  public 
tnind  lay  in  the  first  torpor  caused  by  the  mighty  fall  of  the 
Union,  and  whilst  we  lay  entranced  in  the  oblivious  pool,  Lord 
liardwicke's  administration  proceeded  without  a  trace  of  that 
justice  and  liberality  which  it  appears  he  must  have  thought  un- 
befitting the  season  of  his  government,  and  which  if  he  then  en- 
tertained, he  certainly  concealed ;  he  ended,  however,  with  giving 
i is,  flattering  hopes  for  the  future.  The  Duke  of  Bedford  was 
more  explicit ;  he  promised  in  direct  terms,  *nd  drew  upon  the 
future  exertions  of  an  hereditary  Prince,  to  compensate  us  foi 
present  disappointment.  And  will  any  man  assert  that  the  Duke 
of  Richmond  is  libelled  by  a  comparison  with  Lord  Hardwicke ; 
that  he  is  traduced  when  he  is  compared  with  the  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford? If  the  words  actually  were  th-.-ee,  "the  Duke  of  Richmond 
will  terminate  his  administration  eiacilyas  Lord  Hardwicke  and 
the  Duke  of  Bedford  terminated  their  administrations ;"  if  those 
were  the  words,  none  of  you  could  possibly  vote  for  a  conviction, 
and  yet  the  meaning  is  precisely  the  «a.me.  No  more  is  expressed 
by  the  language  of  my  client ;  and,  if  tho  meaning  be  thus  clearly 
innocent,  it  would  be  strange,  indeed,  to  call  on  you  for  a  verdict 
of  conviction  upon  no  more  solid  ground  than  this,  that  whilst 
the  signification  was  the  same,  the  words  were  different.  And 
thus,  again,  does  the  prosecutor  require  of  you  to  separate  the 
sense  from  the  sound,  and  to  convict  for  the  sound,  against  the 
sense  of  the  passage. 

In  plain  truth,  gentlemen,  if  there  be  a  harshness  in  the  sound, 
there  is  none  in  the  words.  The  writer  describes,  and  means  to 
describe,  the  ordinary  termination  of-  every  administration  repay- 
ing in  promise  the  defaults  of  performance.  And,  when  he 
tpeaks  of  falsehood,  he  prophecies  merely  as  to  the  probable  or 
At  least  possible  conclusion  of  the  present  government.  He  does 
not  impute  to  any  precedent,  assertion,  falsehood  ;  but  he  does 
predict,  that  the  concluding  promise  of  this,  as  of  other  admi- 
nistrations, depending  as  those  promises  always  do  upon  other 
T^ersons  for  performance,  will  remain  as  former  promises  have 
remained — unfulfilled  and  unperformed.  And  is  this  prophecy 
— this  prediction  a  crime  ?  Is  it  a  libel  to  prophecy  \  See  what 
topics  this  sage  venerator  of  the  liberty  of  the  Press,  the  Attor- 
ney-General, would  fain  prohibit.  First,  he  tells  you,  that  the 
crimes  of  the  predecessors  of  the  Duke  must  not  be  mentioned 
— and  thus  he  forbids  the  history  of  past  events.  Secondly,  he 
informs  you,  that  ao  allusion  is  to  be  made  to  the  errors,  follies. 


O'CONNKLI*    ESQ.,  M.P.  2^7 

or  even  the  striking  features  of  the  present  governors  ;  and  thus 
he  forbids  the  detail  of  the  occurrences  of  the  present  day.  And, 
thirdly,  he  declares  that  no  conjecture  shall  be  made  upon  what 
is  likely  to  occur  hereafter  j  and  thus  he  forbids  all  attempts  to 
anticipate  future  acts. 

It  comes  simply  to  this;  he  talks  of  venerating  the  liberties 
of  the  Press,  and  yet  he  restrains  that  Press  from  discussing  past 
aistory,  present  story,  and  future  probabilities ;  he  prohibits  the 
past,  the  present,  and  the  future ;  ancient  records,  modern  truth, 
ind  prophecy,  are  all  within  the  capacious  range  of  his  punish- 
ments. Is  there  anything  else?  Would  this  venerator  of  the 
liberty  of  the  Press  go  further?  YeSj^gentlemen,  having  forbid- 
den all  matter  of  history  past  and  present,  and  all  prediction  of 
the  future,  he  generously  throws  in  abstract  principles,  and,  as 
he  has  told  you,  that  his  prisons  shall  contain  every  person  who 
speaks  of  what  was,  or  what  is,  or  what  will  be,  he  likewise  con- 
signed to  the  same  fate  every  person  who  treats  of  the  theory  or 
principles  of  government ;  and  yet  he  dares  to  talk  of  the  liberty 
of  the  Press!  Can  you  be  his  dupes?  Will  you  be  his  victims? 
Where  is  the  conscience — where  is  the  indignant  spirit  of  in- 
sulted reason  amongst  you?  Has  party  feeling  extinguished  in 
/our  breasts  every  glow  of  virtue — every  spark  of  manhood  ? 

If  there  be  any  warmth  about  you — if  you  are  not  clay-cold 
to  all  but  party  feeling,  I  would,  with  the  air  and  in  the  tone 
of  triumph,  call  you  to  the  consideration  of  the  remaining  para- 
graph which  has  been  spread  on  the  lengthened  indictment  be- 
fore you.  I  divide  it  into  two  branches,  and  shall  do  nc  more 
n -ith  the  one  than  to  repeat  it.  I  read  it  for  you  already  ; 
must  read  it  again : — 

•'  Had  he  remained  what  he  first  came  over,  or  what  he  afterward* 
jTofessed  to  be,  he  would  have  retained  his  reputation  for  honest,  oper. 
hostility,  defending  his  political  principles  with  firmness,  perhaps,  with 
warmth,  but  without  rancour ;  the  supporter,  and  not  the  tool  of  an 
administration  ;  a  mistaken  politician,  perhaps,  but  an  honourable  man, 
.'ind  a  respectable  soldier." 

Would  to  God  I  had  to  address  another  jury !  Would  to  God 
1  had  reason  and  judgment  to  address,  and  I  could  entertain  no 
;>  I  <prehension  from  passion  or  prejudice!  Here  should  I  then 
take  my  stand,  and  require  of  that  unprejudiced  jury,  whether 
tliis  sentence  does  not  demonstrate  the  complete  absence  of  pri- 
vate malice  or  personal  hostility.  Does  not  this  sentence  prove 
a  kindly  disposition  towards  the  individual,  mixing  and  min 
with  that  dibcusaion,  which  freedom  sanctions  and  requires. 


V88  SKI.FCT  SPEECHES  OF 


his  political  conduct!  Contrast  this  sentence  with 
vh<j  prosecutor's  accusation  of  private  malignity,  and  decide  be- 
tween Mr.  Magee  and  his  calumniators.  He,  at  least,  has  this 
•dvaiitage,  that  your  verdict  cannot  alter  the  nature  of  things  ; 
xnd  that  the  public  must  see  and  feel  this  truth,  that  the  pre- 
sent prosecution  is  directed  against  the  discussion  of  the  conduct 
towards  the  public,  of  men  confided  with  public  authority  ;  that 
this  is  a  direct  attack  upon  the  right  to  call  th*>  attention  of  the 
people  to  the  management  of  the  people's  affairs,  and  that,  by 
your  verdict  of  conviction,  it  is  intended  to  leave  no  peaceful  or 
unawed  mode  of  redress  for  the  wrongs  and  sufferings  of  the 


But  I  will  not  detain  you  on  these  obvious  topics.  We  draw 
to  a  close,  and  I  hurry  to  it.  This  sentence  is  said  to  be  parti- 
cularly libellous  :  — 

**  His  party  would  have  been  proud  of  him  ;  his  friends  would  have 
praised  (they  Deed  not  have  flattered  him),  and  his  enemies,  though  they 
might  have  regretted,  must  have  respected  bis  conduct  ;  from  the  worst 
quarter  there  uould  have  been  gome  small  tribute  of  praise  ;  from  none 
any  great  portion  of  censure  ;  and  his  administration,  though  not  popu- 
lar, would  1'uve  been  conducted  with  dignity,  and  without  offence. 
This  line  of  conduct  he  has  taken  care  to  avoid*  his  original  character 
/or  moderation  he  has  forfeited  ;  ho  can  lay  no  claims  to  any  merits  for 
neutrality,  nor  4oes  he  e^en  deserve  the  cheerless  credit  of  defensive 
operations,  lie  has  begun  to  act  ;  he  has  ceased  to  be  a  dispassionate 
rhief  governor,  who  views  the  vicked"e*f»  »nd  the  folly  of  faction  with 
fompoHure  and  forbearance,  and  stand*  ,  the  representative  of  majesty, 
»»loof  from  the  contest.  K>  descends  ;  he  mixes  with  the  throng  ;  he 


base  passions  he  indulges — whose  unworthy  resentments  he  gra- 
t'psa,  and  on  whose  behalf  he  at  present  canvasses." 

Well,  gentlemen,  and  did  he  not  canvass  on  behalf  of  the  mi- 
nistry? Was  there  a  titled  or  untitled  servant  of  the  Castle 
vho  was  not  despatched  to  the  south  to  vote  against  the  pop  a- 
•ar,  and  for  the  ministerial  candidates?  Was  there  a  single  in- 
dividual within  the  reach  of  his  Grace  that  did  not  vote  against 
Prittie  and  Matthew,  in  Tipperary,  and  against  Hutchinson,  in 
Cork.  I  have  brought  with  me  some  of  the  newspapers  of  the 
day,  in  which  this  partisanship  in  the  Lord  Lieutenant  is  treated 
oy  Mr.  Hutchinsou  in  language  so  strong  and  so  pointed,  that 
/be  words  of  this  publication  are  mildness  and  softness  itself 
when  «  m pared  with  thnt  tangiiflue  T  shall  not  read  them  for 


DANIEL  O'OONNELL,  ESQ.,   M.P.  2S9 

you,  because  I  should  fear  that  you  may  imagine  I  unneces- 
sarily identified  iny  client  with  the  violent  but  the  merited  re- 
probation poured  upon  the  scandalous  interference  of  our  go- 
vernment with  those  elections. 

I  need  not,  I  ain  sure,  tell  you  that  any  interference  by  the 
Lord  Lieutenant  with  the  purity  of  the  election  of  members  tc 
serve  in  Parliament,  is  highly  unconstitutional,  and  highly  cri- 
minal ;  he  is  doubly  bound  to  the  most  strict  neutrality;  first, 
as  a  peer,  the  lav/  prohiuits  his  interference ;  secondly,  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  crown,  his  interfere:***,  in  elections  is  an  usur- 
pation of  the  people's  rights  ;  it  is,  in  substance  and  effect,  high 
treason  against  the  people,  and  its  mischiefs  are  not  the  less  by 
reason  of  there  being  no  punishment  affixed  by  the  law  to  this 
treason. 

If  this  offence,  gentlemen,  be  of  daily  occurrence — if  i*  be  fre- 
quently committed,  it  is  upon  that  account  only  the  more  de- 
structive to  our  liberties,  and,  therefore,  requires  the  more  loud, 
direct,  and  frequent  condemnation  :  indeed,  if  such  practices  be 
permitted  to  prevail,  there  is  an  end  ot  every  remnant  of  free- 
dom ;  our  boasted  constitution  becomes  a  mockery  and  an  ob- 
ject of  ridicule,  and  we  ought  to  desire  the  manly  simplicity  of 
unmixed  despotism.  Will  the  Attorney-General — will  his  col- 
league, the  Solicitor-General,  deny  that  I  have  described  this 
offence«n  its  true  colours  ?  Will  they  attempt  to  deny  the  in- 
terference of  the  Duke  of  Richmond  in  the  late  elections  ?  I 
would  almost  venture  to  put  your  verdict  upon  this,  and  to  con- 
sent to  a  conviction,  if  any  person  shall  be  found  so  stocked  with 
audacity,  as  to  presume  publicly  to  deny  the  interference  of  his 
Grace  in  the  late  elections,  and  his  partisanship  in  favour  of  the 
ministerial  candidates.  Gentlemen,  if  that  be  denied,  what  will 
you,  what  can  you  think  of  the  veracity  of  the  man  who  denies 
it  ?  I  fearlessly  refer  the  fact  to  you  ;  on  that  fact  I  build. 
This  interference  is  as  notorious  as  the  sun  at  noon  day :  and 
who  shall  venture  to  deny  that  such  interference  is  described  by 
a  soft  term  when  it  is  called  partisanship  ?  He  who  uses  the 
influence  of  the  executive  to  control  the  choice  of  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  people,  'violates  the  first  principles  of  the  constitu- 
tion, is  guilty  of  political  sacrilege,  and  profanes  the  very  sanc- 
tuary of  the  people's  rights  and  liberties  ;  and  if  he  should  no* 
be  called  a  partisan,  it  is  only  because  some  harsher  and  mort 
appropriate  term  ought  to  be  applied  to  his  delinquency. 

1  will  recal  to  your  minds  an  instance  of  violation  of  the  «3ois- 
,  which  will  illustrate  the  situation  of  my  client,  an«l 


2UU  HELECT  SPEECH  E«  OP 

the  protection  which,  for  your  own  sakes,  you  owe  him.  When, 
in  1687,  King  James  removed  several  Protestant  rectors  in  Ire- 
laud  from  their  churches,  against  law  and  justice,  and  illegally 
and  unconstitutionally  placed  Roman  Catholic  clergymen  in 
their  stead,  would  any  of  you  be  content  that  he  should  be  sim- 
ply called  a  partisan !  No,  gentlemen,  my  client  and  I — Catholic 
and  Protestant  though  we  be — agree  perfectly  in  this,  that  par- 
tisan would  have  been  too  mild  a  name  for  him,  and  that  he 
should  have  been  branded  as  a  violator  of  law,  as  an  enemy  to 
the  constitution,  and  as  a  crafty  tyrant  who  sought  to  gratify 
the  prejudices  of  one  part  of  his  subjects  'hat  he  might  trample 
upon  the  liberties  of  all.  And  what,  I  would  fain  learn,  could 
you  think  of  the  Attorney-General  who  prosecuted,  or  of  the 
judge  who  condemned,  or  of  the  jury  who  convicted  a  printer 
for  publishing  to  the  world  this  tyranny — this  gross  violation  of 
law  and  justice  ?  But  how  would  your  indignation  be  roused, 
if  James  had  been  only  called  a  partisan,  and  for  calling  him  a 
partisan  a  Popish  jury  had  been  packed,  a  Popish  judge  had  been 
selected,  and  that  the  printer,  who,  you  will  admit,  deserved  ap- 
plause and  reward,  met  condemnation  and  punishment. 

Of  you — of  you,  shall  this  story  be  told,  if  you  convict  Mr. 
Magee.  The  Duke  has  interfered  in  elections  ;  he  has  violated 
the  liberties  of  the  subject ;  he  has  profaned  the  very  temple  of 
the  constitution ;  and  he,  who  has  said  that  in  so  doing,%c  was 
a  partisan,  from  your  hands  expects  punishment. 

Compare  the  kindred  offences :  James  deprived  the  Protestant 
rectors  of  their  livings ;  he  did  not  persecute,  nor  did  he  inter- 
fere with  their  religion  ;  for  tithes,  and  oblations,  and  glebes,  and 
church  lands,  though  solid  appendages  to  any  church,  are  no 
part  of  the  Protestant  religion.  The  Protestant  religion  would, 
I  presume — and  for  the  honour  of  human  nature  I  sincerely  hope 
— continue  its  influence  over  the  human  mind  without  the  aid 
of  those  extrinsic  advantages.  Its  pastors  would,  I  trust  and 
believe,  have  remained  true  to  their  charge,  without  the  adven- 
titious benefits  of  temporal  rewards ;  and,  like  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church,  it  might  have  shone  forth  a  glorious  example  of  firm- 
ness in  religion,  setting  persecution  at  defiance.  James  did  not 
attack  the  Protestant  religion ;  I  repeat  it ;  he  only  attacked 
tho  revenues  of  the  Protestant  Church ;  he  violated  the  law  and 
the  constitution,  in  depriving  men  of  that  property,  by  his  indi- 
vidual authority,  to  which  they  had  precisely  the  same  right  with 
that  by  which  he  wore  his  crown.  But  ia  not  the  controlling 
the  election  of  members  of  parliament  a  more  dangerous  violation 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESy.,  11.1'.  ^l«l 

of  the  constitution  ?  Does  it  not  corrupt  the  very  sources  <  f  legib- 
lation,  and  convert  the  guardians  of  the  state  into  its  plunderers! 
The  one  was  a  direct  and  undisguised  crime,  capable  of  being 
redressed  in  the  ordinary  course  of  the  law,  and  producing  resis- 
tance by  its  open  and  plain  violation  of  right  and  of  law  ;  the 
other  disguises  itself  in  so  many  shapes,  is  patronised  by  so  many 
high  examples,  and  is  followed  by  such  perfect  security,  that  it 
becomes  the  first  duty  of  every  man,  who  possesses  any  reverence 
for  the  constitution,  or  any  attachment  to  liberty,  to  lend  all  his 
efforts  to  detect,  and,  if  possible,  to  punish  it. 

To  any  man  who  loved  the  constitution  or  freedom,  I  could 
safely  appeal  for  my  client's  vindication ;  or  if  any  displeasure 
could  be  excited  in  the  mind  of  such  a  man,  it  would  arise  be- 
cause of  the  forbearance  and  lenity  of  this  publication.  But 
the  Duke  is  called  a  frightful  partisan.  Granted,  gentlemen, 
granted.  And  is  not  the  interference  I  have  mentioned  fright- 
ful ?  Is  it  not  terrific  1  Who  can  contemplate  it  without  shud- 
dering at  the  consequences  which  it  is  likely  to  produce?  What 
gentler  phrase — what  lady-like  expression  should  my  client  use? 
The  constitution  is  sought  to  be  violated,  and  he  calls  the  author 
of  that  violation  a  frightful  partisan.  Ilc^ally,  gentlemen,  the 
fastidiousness  which  would  reject  this  expression  would  be  bet- 
ter employed  in  preventing  or  punishing  crime,  than  in  dragging 
10  a  dungeon  the  man  who  has.  the  manliness  to  adhere  t<i 
truth,  and  to  use  it.  Recollect  also — I  cannot  repeat  it  too 
often — that  the  Attorney-General  told  you,  that  "  the  liberty  of 
the  Press  was  the  best  protection  of  the  people  against  the 
government."  Jfow,  if  the  constitution  be  violated — if  the 
purity  of  election  be  disturbed  by  the  executive,  is  not  this  pre- 
cisely the  case  when  this  protection  becomes  necessary  ?  It  is 
not  wanted,  nor  can  the  Press  be  called  a  protector,  so  long  as 
the  government  is  administered  with  fidelity,  care,  and  skill, 
fhe  protection  of  the  Press  is  requisite  only  when  integrity 
diligence,  or  judgment  do  not  belong  to  the  administration  ;  airl 
that  protection  becomes  the  more  necessary  in  the  exact  propor- 
tion in  which  these  qualities  are  deficient.  But,  what  protection* 
cau  it  afford  if  you  convict  in  this  instance  ?  For>  by  doing,  so, 
you  will  decide  that  nothing  ought  to  be  said  against  that  want 
of  honesty,  or  of  attention,  or  of  understanding ;  the  more  ne- 
cessary will  the  protection  of  the  Press  become,  the  more  un- 
safe will  it  be  to  publish  rhe  truth ;  and  in  the  exact  proportion 
'•a  which  the  Press  might  be  useful,  will  it  become  liable  to  pun 
Uihiaeut.  In  short,  nccordiag  to  the  Attorney-General's  doctriue 


1?'2  SELECT  tiPKECHtS  OF 

when  the  Press  is  "  best,  employed  and  wanted  most,*'  it  will  be 
most  dangerous  to  use  it.  And  thus,  the  more  corrupt  and 
urofligate  any  administration  may  be,  the  more  clearly  can  the 
public  prosecutor  ascertain  the  sacrifice  of  his  selected  victim. 
And  call  you  this  protection  ?  Is  this  a  protector  who  must  be 
disarmed  the  moment  danger  threatens,  and  is  bound  a  prisoner 
the  instant  the  fight  has  commenced  ? 

Here  I  should  close  the  case — here  I  should  shortly  recapitu- 
late my  client's  defence,  and  leave  him  to  your  consideration  ; 
but  I  have  been  already  too  tedious,  and  shall  do  no  more  than 
recal  to  your  recollection  the  purity,  the  integrity,  the  entire 
disinterestedness  of  Mr.  Magee's  motives.  If  money  were  his 
object,  he  could  easily  procure  himself  to  be  patronised  and  sala- 
ried ;  but  he  prefers  to  be  persecuted  and  discountenanced  by  the 
great  and  powerful,  because  they  cannot  deprive  him  of  the  cer- 
tain expectation,  that  his  exertions  are  useful  to  his  long-suffer- 
ing, ill-requitted  country. 

He  is  disinterested,  gentlemen  ;  he  is  honest ;  the  Attorney- 
General  admitted  it,  and  actually  took  the  trouble  of  adminis- 
tering to  him  advice  how  to  amend  his  fortune  and  save  his  per- 
son. But  the  advice  only  made  his  youthful  blood  mantle  in 
that  ingenious  countenance,  and  his  reply  was  painted  in  the 
indignant  look,  that  told  the  Attorney-General  he  might  offer 
wealth,  but  he  could  not  bribe — that  he  might  torture,  but  he 
could  not  terrify !  Yes,  gentlemen,  firm  in  his  honesty,  and 
strong  in  the  fervour  of  his  love  of  Ireland,  he  fearlessly  awaits 
your  verdict,  convinced  that  even  you  must  respect  the  man 
whom  you  are  called  upon  to  condemn.  Look  to  it,  gentlemen ; 
consider  whether  an  honest,  disinterested  man  shall  be  prohibited 
from  discussing  public  affairs  ;  consider  whether  all  but  flattery 
is  to  be  silent — whether  the  discussion  of  the  errors  and  the  ca- 
pacities of  the  ministers  is  to  be  closed  for  ever.  Whether  \ve 
are  to  be  silent  as  to  the  crimes  of  former  periods — the  follies  of 
the  present,  and  the  credulity  of  the  future  ;  and,  above  all,  re 
fleet  upon  the  demand  that  is  made  on  you  to  punish  the  canvass- 
ing of  abstract  principles. 

Has  the  Attorney-General  succeeded?  Has  he  procured  a 
jury  so  fitted  to  his  object,  as  to  be  ready  to  bury  in  oblivion 
nvery  fault  and  every  crime,  every  error  and  every  imperfection 
of  public  men,  past,  present,  and  future — and  who  shall,  in  ad- 
dition, silence  any  dissertation  on  the  theory  or  principle  of  . 
legislation.  Do,  gentlemen,  30  this  length  with  the  prosecutor 
and  then  venture  on  y^ir  oaths.  I  charge  you  to  venture  t9 


IV-YliiJfiL  OCONNELL,  EfiiQ.,  M.P.  293 

talk  to  your  families  of  the  venerable  liberty  of  the  Press — the 
protection  of  the  people  against  the  vices  of  the  government. 

I  should  conclude,  but  the  Attorney-General  compels  me  to 
follow  him  through  another  subject ;  he  has  told  you,  and  told 
you  truly,  that  besides  the  matter  set  out  in  the  indictment — 
the  entire  of  which,  gentlemen,  we  have  already  gone  through — 
this  publication  contains  severe  strictures  upon  the  alleged  inde- 
licacy in  the  Chief  Justice  issuing  a  ministerial  warrant,  in  a 
case  which  was  afterwards  to  come  be  to  re  him  judicially,  am. 
upon  the  manner  in  which  the  jury  was  attempted  to  be  put  to- 
gether in  Doctor  Sheridan's  case,  and  in  which  a  jury  was  better 
arranged  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Kirwan.  Indeed,  the  Attorney-Gene- 
ral seemed  much  delighted  with  these  topics  ;  he  again  burst 
out  into  an  enraptured  encomium  upon  himself;  and,  as  it  were 
inspired  by  his  subject,  he  rose  to  the  dignity  of  a  classical  quo- 
tation, when  he  exclaimed,  "me  me,  adsum,  quifeci"  HE  for- 
got  to  add  the  still  more  appropriate  remainder  of  the  sentence,, 
fi  meafraus  omnis!" 

YES,  gentlemen,  he  has  avowed  with  more  manliness  than  dis- 
cretion, that  he  was  the  contriver  of  all  those  measures.  With 
respect  to  the  warrant  which  his  lordship  issued  in  'he  stead  of 
the  ordinary  justices  of  the  peace,  and  upon  a  charge  nor-  amount- 
ing to  any  breach  of  the  peace,  I  shall  say  nothing  at  present. 
An  obvious  delicacy  restrains  me  from  entering  upon  that  sub- 
ject ;  and  as  the  interest  of  my  client  does  not  counteract  that 
delicacy,  I  shall  refrain.  But  I  would  not  have  it  understood 
that  I  have  formed  no  opinion  on  the  subject.  Yes,  I  have 
formed  an  opinion,  and  a  strong  and  decided  opinion,  which  I 
am  ready  to  support  as  a  lawyer  and  a  man,  but  the  expression 
of  which  I  now  sacrifice  to  a  plain  delicacy.  But  I  must  say, 
that  the  Attorney-General  has  thrown  new  light  on  this  busi- 
ness ;  he  has  given  us  information  we  did  not  possess  before. 
I  did  not  before  know  that  the  warrant  was  sought  for  and  pro- 
cured by  the  Attorney-General ;  I  thought  it  was  the  sponta- 
neous act  of  his  lordship,  and  not  in  consequence  of  any  private 
solicitation  from  the  Attorney-General.  In  this  respect,  he  has 
set  me  right — it  is  a  fact  of  considerable  value,  and  although 
the  consequences  to  be  deduced  from  it  are  not  pleasing  to  any 
man,  loving,  as  I  do,  the  purity  of  justice,  yet,  I  most  heartily 
thank  the  Attorney-General  for  thejact — tJie  important  foci. 

His  second  avowal  relates  to  Dr.  Sheridan.  It  really  is  com- 
fortable to  know  how  much  of  the  indecent  scene  exhibited  upon 
his  trial  belonged  to  the  Attorney-General.  He  candidly  tells 


294  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

us,  that  the  obtrusion  of  the  polico  magistrate,  Sirr,  as  an  assii* 
taut  to  the  Crown-Solicitor,  was  the  act  of  the  King's  Attorney- 
General.  "  Adsum  qui  fed"  said  he.  Thus  he  avows  that  he 
procured  an  Orangeman — I  do  not  exactly  understand  what  is 
meant  by  an  Orangeman — some  of  you  could  easily  tell  me — that 
he  caused  this  Orangeman  to  stand  in  open  court,  next  to  the 
Solicitor  for  the  Crown,  with  his  written  paper,  suggesting  who 
were  fit  jurors  for  his  purpose,  and  who  should  be  put  by.  Gen- 
tlemen, he  avows  that  this  profligate  scene  was  acted  in  the  open 
court,  by  his  directions.  It  was  by  the  Attorney-General's  spe- 
cial directions,  then,  that  such  men  as  John  Lindsay,  of  Sack- 
ville-street,  and  John  Roche,  of  Strand-street,  were  set  aside ; 
the  latter,  because,  though  amongst  the  most  wealthy  and  re- 
spectable merchants  in  your  city,  he  is  a  Papist ;  and  the  other, 
necause,  although  a  Protestant,  he  is  tainted  with  liberality 
— the  only  offence,  public  or  private,  that  could  be  attributed 
to  him.  Yes,  such  men  as  these  were  set  aside  by  the  Attorney- 
General's  aid-de-camp,  the  salaried  justice  of  the  police  office. 

TJie  next  avowal  is  also  precious.  This  publication  contains 
also  a  commentary  on  the  Castle-list  jury  that  convicted  Mr. 
Kirwan,  and  the  Attorney-General  has  also  avowed  his  bhare  in 
that  transaction  ;  he  thus  supplies  the  only  link  we  wanted  in 
our  chain  of  evidence,  when  we  challenged  the  array  upon  that 
"rial.  If  we  could  have  proved  that  which  the  Attorney- Gene- 
ral, with  his  " adsum  gui  fed"  yesterday  admitted,  we  should 
have  succeeded  and  got  rid  of  that  panel.  Even  now,  it  is  de- 
lightful to  understand  the  entire  machinery,  and  one  now  sees 
at  once  the  reason  why  Sir  Charles  Saxton  was  not  examined 
an  the  part  of  the  crown,  in  reply  to  the  case  we  made.  He 
would,  you  now  plainly  see,  have  traced  the  arrangement  to  the 
Attorney-General,  and  the  array  must  have  been  quashed.  Thus 
jn  the  boasting  humour  of  this  Attorney-General,  he  has  brought 
Vonie  to  himself  personally,  that  which  we  attributed  to  him  only 
in  his  official  capacity,  and  he  has  convicted  the  man  of  that 
which  we  charged  only  upon  the  office.  • 

He  has,  he  must  have  a  motive  for  this  avowal ;  if  he  had 
not  an  adequate  object  in  view,  he  would  not  have  thus  unne- 
cessarily and  wantonly  taken  upon  himself  all  the  reproach  of 
f.hose  transactions.  He  would  not  have  boasted  of  having,  out 
of  court,  solicited  an  extra-judicial  opinion,  in  the  form  of  a  war- 
rant from  his  lordship;  he  would  not  havegloned  in  employing 
an  Orangeman  from  the  police  office  to  assist  him  in  open  court, 
wjth  instructions  in  writing  how  to  pacv  his  jury  ;  stili  le«? 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.F.  295 

vould  he  have  suffered  it  to  believed  that  he  was  a  party  at  the 
f.'astle,  with  the  acting  Secretary  of  State,  to  the  arrangement 
of  the  jury  that  was  afterwards  to  try  a  person  prosecuted  by 
the  state. 

He  would  not  have  made  this,  I  must  say,  disgraceful  avowal, 
unless  he  were  influenced  by  an  adequate  motive.  I  can  easily 
tell  you  what  that  motive  was.  He  knew  your  prejudices — iw 
kne\v  vour  antipathy — alas  !  your  interested  antipathy — to  th* 
Catholics,  and,  therefore,  in  order  to  induce  you  to  convict 
Protestant  of  a  libel  for  a  publication,  innocent,  if  not  useful  in 
itself,  in  order  to  procure  that  conviction  from  your  party  feel 
ings  and  your  prejudices,  which  he  despaired  of  obtaining  from 
your  judgments,  he  vaunts  himself  to  you  as  the  mighty  destroy  ei 
of  the  hopes  of  Popish  petitioners — as  a  man  capable  of  every 
act  within,  as  out  of  the  profession,  to  prevent  or  impede  any 
relief  to  the  Papists.  In  short,  he  wishes  to  show  himself  to  you 
as  an  active  partisan  at  your  side ;  and  upon  those  merits  he  who 
knows  you  best,  claims  your  verdict — a  verdict  which  must  be 
^iven  in  on  your  oaths,  and  attested  by  and  in  the  name  of  the 
GOD  of  the  Christians. 

For  my  part  I  frankly  avow  that  I  shudder  at  these  scenes  • 
I  cannot,  without  horror,  view  this  interfering  and  intermeddling 
with  judges  and  juries,  and  my  abhorrence  must  be  augmentea 
when  I  find  it  avowed,  that  the  actors  in  all  these  sad  exhibi 
tions  were  the  mere  puppets  of  the  Attorney-General,  moved  by 
his  wires,  and  performing  under  his  control.  It  is  in  vain  it 
look  for  safety  to  person  or  property,  whilst  this  system  is 
allowed  to  pervade  our  courts;  the  very  fountain  of  justice  ma} 
be  corrupted  at  its  source,  and  those  waters  which  should  confer 
health  and  vigour  throughout  the  land,  can  then  diffuse  nought 
but  mephitic  and  pestilential  vapours  to  disgust  and  to  destroy. 
Tf  honesty,  if  justice  be  silent,  yet  prudence  ought  to  check 
these  practices.  We  live  in  a  new  era — a  melancholy  era,  in 
which  perfidy  and  profligacy  are  sanctioned  by  high  authority  • 
the  base  violation  of  plighted  faith,  the  deep  stain  of  dishonour, 
infidelity  in  love,  treachery  m  friendship,  the  abandonment  of 
every  principle,  and  the  adoption  of  every  frivolity  and  of  every 
vice  that  can  excite  hatred  combined  with  ridicule — all — alt  this, 
and  more,  may  be  seen  around  us  ;  and  yet  it  is  believed,  it  is 
expected,  that  this  system  is  fated  to  be  eternal.  Gentlemen, 
we  shall  all  weep  the  insane  delusion ;  and  in  the  terrific  moments 
of  altercation  you  know  not,  you  cannot  know,  how  soon  or  how 


2'JG  ariJX  T  SPEECHES  OF 

bitterly  the  ingredients  of  your  own  poisoned  chalice  m&y  be 
commended  to  your  own  lips. 

With  these  views  around  us — with  these  horrible  prospects 
lying  obscurely  before  us — in  sadness  and  in  sorrow  party  feelings 
may  fird  a  solitary  consolation.  My  heart  feels  a  species  of  re- 
lief wheii  1  recollect  that  not  one  single  Roman  Catholic  has  been 
found  suited  to  the  Attorney-General's  purpose.  With  what 
an  affectation  of  liberality  would  he  have  placed,  at  least,  one 
Roman  Catholic  on  his  juries,  if  he  could  have  found  one  Roman 
Catholic  gentleman  in  this  city  capable  of  being  managed  into 
h'tnoc<3  for  those  juries.  You  well  know  that  the  very  first  mer- 
chants of  this  city,  in  wealth  as  well  as  in  character,  are  Catho- 
licc.  Some  of  you  serve  occasionally  on  special  juries  in  impor- 
tant cases  of  private  property.  Have  you  ever  seen  one  of  those 
special  juries  without  many  Catholics  1 — frequently  a  majority 
— seldom  less  than  one-half  of  Catholics.  Why  are  Catholics 
excluded  from  these  state  juries  1  Who  shall  venture  to  avov 
the  reason  i  Oh,  for  the  partisan  indiscretion  that  would  blindly 
avow  the  reason!  It  is,  in  truth,  a  high  compliment,  which 
persecution,  in  spite  of  itself,  pays  to  independent  integrity. 

It  IH.  in  fact,  a  compliment.  It  is  intended  for  a  reproach, 
for  a  libel.  It  is  meant  to  insinuate  that  such  a  man,  for  ex- 
ample, as  Randal  McDonnell — the  pride  and  boast  of  commerce 
— one  of  the  first  contributors  to  the  revenues  of  the  state,  and 
the  first  in  all  the  sweet  charities  of  social  life — would  refuse  to 
do  justice,  upon  his  oath,  to  the  Crown,  and  perjure  himself  in 
a  state  trial,  because  he  is  a  Roman  Catholic.  You,  even  you, 
would  be  shocked,  if  any  man  were  so  audacious  as  to  assert,  in 
words,  so  foul  a  libel,  so  false  a  calumny  ;  and  }  et  what  doe« 
the  conduct  of  the  Attorney-General  amount  to?  Why,  practi- 
cally, to  just  such  a  libel,  to  precisely  such  a  calumny.  He  acts  a 
part  which  he  would  not  venture  to  speak,  and  endeavours  silently 
to  inflict  a  censure  which  no  man  could  be  found  so  devoid  of 
shame  as  to  assert  in  words.  And  here,  gentlemen,  is  a  libel 
for  which  there  is  no  punishment ;  here. is  a  profligate  calumny 
for  which  the  law  furnishes  no  redress  ;  he  can  continue  to  ca 
iumniate  us  by  his  rejection.  See  whether  he  does  not  offer  you 
a  greater  insult  by  his  selection ;  lay  your  hands  to  your  hearts, 
and  in  private  communion  with  yourselves,  ask  the  reason  why 
you  have  been  sought  for  and  selected  for  this  jury — will  you 
discover  that  you  have  been  selected  because  of  admitted  impar 
? 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,    ESQ.,    M.P.  207 

Would  to  GOD  you  could  make  that  discovery  !  It  would  be 
one  on  which  my  client  might  build  the  certain  expectation  of 
a  triumphant  acquittal. 

Let  me  transport  you  from  the  heat  and  fury  of  domestic- 
politics  ;  let  me  place  you  in  a  foreign  land ;  you  are  Protestants, 
with  your  good  leave,  you  shall,  for  a  moment,  be  Portuguese, 
and  Portuguese  is  now  an  honourable  name,  for  right  well  have 
the  people  of  Portugal  fought  for  their  country,  against  the 
foreign  invader.  Oh  !  how  easy  to  procure  a  similar  spirit,  and 
more  of  bravery,  amongst  the  people  of  Ireland !  The  slight 
purchase  of  good  words,  and  a  kindly  disposition,  would  convert 
them  into  an  impenetrable  guard  for  the  safety  of  the  Throne 
*nd  the  State.  But  advice  and  regret  are  equally  unavailing, 
and  they  are  doomed  to  calumny  and  oppression,  the  reality  of 
persecution,  and  the  mockery  of  justice,  until  some  fatal  hour 
shall  arrive,  which  may  preach  wisdom  to  the  dupes,  and  menace 
with  punishment  the  oppressor. 

In  the  meantime  I  must  place  you  in  Portugal.  Let  us  sup- 
pose fbr  an  instant  that  the  Protestant  religion  is  thaV  ?f  the 
people  of  Portugal — the  Catholic,  that  of  the  government — that 
the  house  of  Braganza  has  not  reigned,  but  that  Portugal  is  still 
governed  by  the  viceroy  of  a  foreign  nation,  from  whom  no  kind- 
ness, no  favour  has  ever  flowed,  and  from  whom  justice  has 
rarely  been  obtained,  and  upon  those  unfrequent  occasions,  not 
conceded  generously,  but  extorted  by  force,  or  wrung  from  dis- 
tress by  terror  and  apprehension,  in  a  stinted  measure  and  un- 
gracious manner ;  you,  Protestants,  shall  form,  not  as  with  us  in 
Ireland,  nine-tenths,  but  some  lesser  number,  you  shall  be  only 
four-fifths  of  the  population  ;  and  all  the  persecution  which  you 
have  yourselves  practised  here  upon  Papists,  whilst  you,  at  the 
same  time,  accused  the  Papists  of  the  crime  of  being  persecutors, 
shall  glow  around  ;  your  native  land  shall  be  to  you  the  country 
of  strangers  ;  you  shall  be  aliens  in  the  soil  that  gave  you  birth, 
and  whilst  every  foreigner  may,  in  the  land  of  your  forefathers, 
attain  rank,  station,  emolument,  honours,  you  alone  shall  be  ex- 
cluded ;  and  you  shall  be  excluded  for  no  other  reason  but  a 
conscientious  abhorrence  to  the  religion  of  your  ancestors. 

Only  think,  gentlemen,  of  the  scandalous  injustice  of  punishing 
you  because  you  are  Protestants.  With  what  scorn — with  what 
contempt  do  you  not  listen  to  the  stale  pretences — to  the  mise- 
rable excuses  by  which,  under  the  name  of  state  reasons  and 
political  arguments:,  your  exclusion  and  degradation  are  sought 
to  be  justified.  Your  reply  is  ready — "perform  your  iniqiiity 

u 


208  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

—men  of  crimes  (you  exclaim)  be  unjust — punish  us  for  om 
fidelity  and  honest  adherence  to  truth,  but  insult  us  not  by  sup- 
posing that  your  reasoning  can  impose  upon  a  single  individual 
tither  of  us  or  of  yourselves."  In  this  situation  let  me  give  you 
a  viceroy;  he  shall  be  a  man  who  may  be  styled — by  some  per- 
son disposed  to  exaggerate,  beyond  bounds,  his  merits,  and  to 
flatter  him  more  than  enough — "  an  honourable  man  and  a  re- 
spectable soldier,"  but,  in  point  of  fact,  he  shall  be  of  that  little- 
minded  class  of  beings  who  are  suited  to  be  the  plaything  of  knaves 
— one  of  those  men  who  imagine  they  govern  a  nation,  whilst, 
in  reality  they  are  but  the  instruments  upon  which  the  crafty 
play  with  safety  and  with  profit.  Take  such  a  man  for  your 
viceroy — Protestant  Portuguese.  We  shall  begin  with  making 
this  tour  from  Tralos  Montes  to  the  kingdom  of  Algesiras — as  one 
amongst  us  should  say,  from  the  Giant's  Causeway  to  the  king- 
dom of  Kerry.  Upon  his  tour  he  shall  affect  great  candour  and 
good-will  to  the  poor  suffering  Protestants.  The  bloody  anni- 
versaries of  the  inquisitorial  triumphs  of  former  days  shall  be  for 
a  season  abandoned,  and  over  our  inherent  hostility  the  garb  ot 
hypocrisy  shall,  for  a  season,  be  thrown.  Enmity  to  the  Protest- ; 
ants  shall  become,  for  a  moment,  less  apparent ;  but  it  will  be 
only  the  more  odious  for  the  transitory  disguise. 

The  delusion  of  the  hour  having  served  its  purpose,  your 
viceroy  shows  himself  in  his  native  colours ;  he  selects  for  office, 
and  prefers  for  his  pension-list,  the  men  miserable  in  ;ntellect, 
if  they  be  but  virulent  against  the  Protestants ;  to  rail  against 
the  Protestant  religion — to  turn  its  holiest  rites  into  ridicule — 
to  slander  the  individual  Protestants,  are  the  surest,  the  only 
means  to  obtain  his  favour  and  patronage.  He  selects  from  his 
Popish  bigots  some  being  more  canine  than  human,  who,  not 
having  talents  to  sell,  brings  to  the  market  of  bigotry  his  impu- 
dence— who,  with  no  quality  under  heaven,  but  gross,  vulgar, 
acrimonious,  disgustful,  and  shameless  abuse  of  Protestantism 
to  recommend  him  shall  bo  promoted  to  some  accountant-gene- 
ralship, and  shall  riot  in  the  spoils  of  the  people  he  traduces,  as 
it  were  to  crown  with  insult  the  severest  injuries.  This  viceroy 
selects  for  his  favourite  privy  councillor  some  learned  doctor, 
half  lawyer,  half  divine,  an  entire  brute,  distinguished  by  the  un- 
blushing repetition  of  calumnies  against  the  Protestants.  This 
man  has  asserted  that  Protestants  are  perjurers  and  murderere 
in  principle — that  they  keep  no  faith  with  Papists,  but  hold  it 
luwful  and  meritorious  to  violate  every  engagement,  and  commit 
atrocity  towards  any  person  who  happens  to  differ  witc 


DANIEL  O'CCNNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  290 

Protestants  in  religious  belief.  This  man  raves  thus,  in  public, 
against  the  Protestants,  and  has  turned  his  ravings  into  large  per- 
sonal emoluments.  But  whilst  he  is  the  oracle  of  minor  bigots, 
he  does  not  believe  himself,  he  has  selected  for  the  partner  o* 
his  tenderest  joys,  of  his  most  ecstatic  moments — he  has  chosen 
for  the  intended  mother  of  his  children,  for  the  sweetener  and 
solace  of  his  every  care,  a  Protestant,  gentlemen  of  the  jury. 

Next  to  the  vile  instruments  of  bigotry,  his  accountant-gene- 
ral and  privy  councillor,  we  will  place  his  acts.  The  Protestants 
of  Portugal  shall  be  exposed  to  insult  and  slaughter;  an  Orange 
party — a  party  of  Popish  Orangemen,  shall  be  supposed  to  exist ; 
they  shall  have  liberty  to  slaughter  the  unarmed  and  defenceless 
Protestants,  and  as  they  sit  peaceably  at  their  firesides.  They 
shall  be  let  loose  in  some  Portuguese  district,  called  Monaghaii; 
they  shall  cover  the  streets  of  some  Portuguese  town  of  Belfast 
with  human  gore  ;  and  in  the  metropolis  of  Lisbon,  the  Protes- 
tant widow  shall  have  her  harmless  child  murdered  in  the  noon 
day,  and  his  blood  shall  have  flowed  unrequited,  because  his  as- 
sassin was  very  loyal  when  he  was  drunk,  and  had  an  irresisti- 
ble propensity  to  signalise  his  loyalty  by  killing  Protestants. 
Behold,  gentlemen,  this  viceroy  depriving  of  command,  and  stay- 
ing the  promotion  of,  every  military  man  who  shall  dare  to  think 
Protestants  men,  or  who  shall  presume  to  suggest  that  they 
ought  not  to  be  prosecuted.  Behold  this  viceroy  promoting  and 
rewarding  the  men  who  insulted  and  attempted  to  degrade  the 
first  of  your  Protestant  nobility.  Behold  him  in  public,  the 
man  I  have  described. 

In  his  personal  concerns  he  receives  an  enormous  revenue  from 
the  people  he  thus  misgoverns.  See  in  his  management  of  that 
revenue  a  parsimony  at  which  even  his  enemies  blush.  See  the 
paltry  sum  of  a  single  joe  refused  to  any  Protestant  charity, 
whilst  his  bounty  is  unknown  even  at  the  Popish  institutions 
for  benevolent  purposes.  See  the  most  wasteful  expenditure  of 
the  public  money — every  job  patronised — every  profligacy  en- 
couraged. See  the  resources  of  Portugal  diminished.  See  her 
discords  and  her  internal  feuds  increased.  And,  lastly,  behold 
the  course  of  justice  perverted  and  corrupted. 

It  is  thus,  gentleman,  the  Protestant  Portuguese  seek  to  ob- 
tain relief  by  humble*  petition  and  supplication.  There  can  bt? 
no  crime  surely  for  a  Protestant  oppressed,  because  he  follows  ?i 
religion  which  is,  in  his  opinion,  true,  to  endeavour  to  obtain 
relief  by  mildly  representing  to  his  Popish  oppressors,  that  it  is 
the  right  of  every  man  to  worship  Ibe  Deity  according  to  the 


300  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

dictates  of  his  own  conscience ;  to  state  respectfully  to  the  go 
verning  powers  that  it  is  \mjust,  and  may  be  highly  impolitic  to 
punish  men,  merely  because  they  do  not  profess  Popery,  which 
they  do  not  believe ;  and  to  submit,  with  all  humility,  that  to 
lay  the  burdens  of  the  state  equally,  and  distribute  its  bene- 
fits partially,  is  not  justice,  but,  although  sanctioned  by  the  pre- 
tence of  religious  zeal,  is,  in  truth,  iniquity,  and  palpably  crimi- 
nal. Well,  gentlemen,  fgr  daring  thus  to  remonstrate,  the  Pro- 
testants are  persecuted.  The  first  step  in  the  persecution  is  to 
pervert  the  plain  meaning  of  the  Portuguese  language,  and  a 
[aw  prohibiting  any  disguise  in  apparel,  shall  be  applied  to  the 
ordinary  dress  of  the  individual ;  it  reminds  one  of  pretence  and 
purpose. 

To  carry  on  these  persecutions,  the  viceroy  chooses  for  his 
first  inquisitor  the  descendant  of  some  Popish  refugee — some 
man  with  an  hereditary  hatred  to  Protestants;  he  is  not  the 
son  of  an  Irishman,  this  refugee  inquisitor — no,  for  the  fact  ia 
notorious,  that  the  Irish  refugee  Papists  were  ever  distinguished 
for  their  liberality,  as  well  as  for  their  gallantry  in  the  field  and 
talent  in  the  cabinet.  This  inquisitor  shall  be,  gentlemen,  a 
descendant  from  one  of  those  English  Papists,  who  was  the  dupe 
or  contriver  of  the  Gunpowder  Plot!  With  such  a  chief  inquisi- 
tor, can  you  conceive  anything  more  calculated  to  rouse  you  to 
agony  than  the  solemn  mockery  of  your  trial.  This  chief  inqui- 
sitor begins  by  influencing  the  judges  out  of  court ;  he  proceeds 
to  inquire  out  fit  men  for  his  interior  tribunal,  which,  for  brevity, 
we  will  call  a  jury.  HE  selects  his  juries  from  the  most  violent 
of  the  Popish  Orangemen  of  the  city,  and  procures  a  conviction 
against  law  and  common  sense,  and  without  evidence.  Have  you 
followed  me,  gentlemen?  Do  you  enter  into  the  feelings  of  Pro- 
testants thus  insulted,  thus  oppressed,  thus  persecuted — their 
enemies  and  traducers  promoted,  and  encouraged,  and  richly  re- 
warded— their  triends  discountenanced  and  displaced — their  per- 
sons unprotected,  and  their  characters  assailed  by  hired  caitm> 
niators — their  blood  shed  with  impunity — their  revenues  parsi- 
moniously spared  to  accumulate  for  the  individual,  wasteful!* 
squandered  for  the  state — the  emblems  of  discord,  the  war-cry 
of  disunion,  sanctioned  by  the  highest  authority,  and  Justice 
herself  converted  from  an  impartial  arbitrator  into  a  frightful 
partisan? 

Yes,  gentlemen,  place  yourselves  as  Protestants  under  such  a 
persecution.  Behold  before  you  this  chief  inquisitor,  with  his 
prejudiced  tribunal — this  gambler,  with  a  loaded  die  •  and  now 


DANIEL  OCONNELL,  EbQ.,  M.P.  301 

say  what  are  your  feelings — what  are  your  sensations  of  disgust, 
abhorrence,  affright?  But  if  at  such  a  moment  some  ardent  and 
enthusiastic  Papist,  regardless  of  his  interests,  and  roused  by  tha 
crimes  that  were  thus  committed  against  you,  should  describe, 
in  measured,  and  cautious,  and  cold  language,  scenes  of  oppres- 
sion and  iniquity — if  he  were  to  describe  them,  not  as  1  have 
done,  but  in  feeble  and  mild  language,  and  simply  state  the  facts 
for  your  benefit  and  the  instruction  of*the  public — if  this  liberal 
Papist,  for  this,  were  dragged  to  the  Inquisition,  as  for  a  crime, 
and  menaced  with  a  dungeon  for  years,  good  and  gracious  God ! 
how  would  you  revolt  at  and  abominate  the  men  who  could  con- 
sign him  to  that  dungeon !  With  what  an  eye  of  contempt,  and 
hatred,  and  despair,  would  you  not  look  at  the  packed  and  pro- 
fligate tribunal,  which  could  direct  punishment  against  him  who 
deserved  rewards !  What  pity  would  you  not  feel  for  the  advo- 
cate who  heavily,  and  without  hope,  laboured  in  his  defence! 
and  with  what  agonized  and  frenzied  despair  would  you  not  look 
to  the  future  destiuies  of  a  land  in  which  perjury  was  organized 
and  from  which  humanity  and  justice  had  been  for  ever  banished ! 
With  this  picture  of  yourselves  in  Portugal,  come  home  to  us 
in  Ireland,  say  is  that  a  crime,  when  applied  to  Protestants, 
which  is  a  virtue  and  a  merit  when  applied  to  Papists  ?  Behold 
how  we  suffer  here ;  and  then  reflect,  that  is  is  principally  by  rea- 
son of  your  prejudices  against  us  that  the  Attorney- General 
hopes  for  your  verdict.  The  good  man  has  talked  of  his  impar- 
tiality ;  he  will  suppress,  he  says,  the  licentiousness  of  the  Press. 
I  have,  I  hope,  shown  you  the  right  of  my  client  to  discuss  the 
public  subjects  which  he  has  discussed  in  the  manner  they  are 
treated  of  in  the  publication  before  you,  yet  he  is  prosecuted. 
Let  me  read  for  you  a  paragraph  which  the  Attorney- General 
has  not  prosecuted — which  he  has  refused  to  prosecute : 

"  BALLTBAY,  JULY  4, 1813. 

"  A  meeting  of  the  Orange  Lodges  was  agreed  on,  in  consequence 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  Catholics  wished  to  have  persecuted  the 
loyalists  in  this  county  last  year,  when  they  even  murdered  some  of  them 
for  no  other  reason  than  their  being  yeomen  and  Protestants.1' 

And,  again — 

"  It  was  at  Ballybay  that  the  Catholics  murdered  one  Hughes,  a  yeo- 
man sergeant  for  being  a  Protestant,  as  was  given  in  evidence  at  the 
assizes  by  a  Catholic  witness" 

I  have  read  this  passage  from  the  Hibernian  Journal  of  the 
7 tli  of  this  month.  I  know  not  whether  voi'  can  hear,  unmove4. 


802  bELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

ft  par?  jTaph  which  makes  my  blood  boil  to  r?ad ;  but  I  shall 
only  tell  you,  that  the  Attorney-General  refused  to  prosecute 
*his  libeller.  Gentlemen,  there  have  been  several  murders  com- 
mitted jn  the  county  of  Monaghan,  in  which  Ballybay  lies.  The 
Arsons  killed  happened  to  be  Roman  Catholics ;  their  murder- 
ers are  Orangemen.  Several  of  the  persons  accused  of  these  mur- 
ilers  are  to  be  tried  at  the  ensuing  assizes.  The  agent  applied 
to  me  personally,  with  tnis  newspaper ;  he  stated  that  the  ob- 
rious  intention  was  to  create  a  prejudice  upon  the  approaching 
trials  favourable  to  the  murderers,  and  against  the  prosecutors. 
He  stated  what  you — even  you — will  easily  believe,  that  there 
never  was  a  falsehood  more  flagitiously  destitute  of  truth  than 
the  entire  paragraph.  I  advised  him,  gentlemen,  to  wait  on  the 
Attorney- General  in  the  most  respectful  manner  possible  ;  to 
show  him  this  paragraph,  then  to  request  to  be  allowed  to  satisfy 
him  as  to  the  utter  falsehood  of  the  assertions  which  this  para^ 
graph  contained,  which  could  be  more  easily  done,  as  the  judges 
who  went  that  circuit  could  prove  part  of  it  to  be  false  ;  and  I 
directed  him  to  entreat  that  the  Attorney-General,  when  fully 
Kitisfied  of  the  falsehood,  would  prosecute  the  publisher  of  this, 
which,  I  think,  I  may  call  an  atrocious  libel. 

Gentlemen,  the  Attorney- General  was  accordingly  waited  on ; 
he  was  respectfully  requested  to  prosecute  upon  the  terms  of 
having  the  falsehood  of  these  assertions  first  proved  to  him.  1 
need  not  tell  you  ne  refused.  These  are  not  the  libellers  he  pro- 
secutes. Gentlemen,  this  not  being  a  libel  on  any  individual, 
no  private  individual  can  prosecute  for  it;  and  the  Attorney- 
General  turns  his  Press  loose  on  the  Catholics  of  the  county  of 
Monaghan,  whilst  he  virulently  assails  Mr.  Magee  for  what  must 
fee  admitted  to  be  comparatively  mild  and  inoffensive. 

No,  gentlemen,  he  does  not  prosecute  this  libel.  On  the  con- 
trary, this  paper  is  paid  enormous  sums  of  the  public  money. 
There  are  no  less  than  five  proclamations  in  the  paper  containing 
this  libel ;  and,  it  was  proved  in  my  presence,  in  a  court  of  jus- 
tice, that,  besides  the  proclamations  and  public  advertisements, 
the  two  proprietors  of  the  paper  had  each  a  pension  of  £400  per 
annum,  for  supporting  government,  as  it  was  called.  Since  that 
period  one  of  those  proprietors  has  got  an  office  worth,  at  least, 
£800  a  year ;  and  the  son  of  the  other,  a  place  of  upwards  of 
£400  per  annum  :  so  that,  as  it  is  likely  that  the  original  pen 
sions  continue,  here  may  be  an  annual  income  of  £2,000  paid 
for  this  paper,  besides  the  thousands  of  pounds  annually,  which 
the  insertion  of  the  proclamations  and  public  advertisement* 


DANIEL  o'CQNNiSLL,  tSQ.,  M.L1.  303 

cost.  It  is  a  paper  of  the  very  lowest  and  most  paltry  scale  of 
talent,  and  its  circulation  is,  fortunately,  very  limited ;  but  it 
receives  several  thousands  of  pounds  of  the  money  of  the  men 
xvhom  it  foully  and  falsely  calumniates. 

Would  I  could  see  the  man  who  pays  this  proclamation  money 
and  these  pensions  at  the  Castle.  [Here  Mr.  O'Connell  turned 
round  to  where  Mr.  Peele*  sat.]  Would  I  could  see  the  man 
who,  against  the  fact,  asserted  that  the  proclamations  were  in- 
serted in  all  the  papers,  save  in  those  whose  proprietors  were 
convicted  of  a  libel.  I  would  ask  him  whether  this  be  a  paper 
that  ought  to  receive  the  mooey  of  the  Irish  people  ? — whether 
this  be  the  legitimate  use  of  the  public  purse  ?  And  when  you 
find  this  calumniator  salaried  and  rewarded,  where  is  the  impar- 
tiality, the  justice,  or  even  the  decency  of  prosecuting  Mr.  Magee 
for 'a  libel,  merely  because  he  has  not  praised  public  men,  and 
has  discussed  public  affairs  in  the  spirit  of  freedom  and  of  the 
constitution.  Contrast  the  situation  of  Mr.  Magee  with  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Hibernian  Journal ;  the  one  is  prosecuted  with 
all  the  weight  and  influence  of  the  crown,  the  other  pensioned 
by  the  ministers  of  the  crown  ;  the  one  dragged  to  your  bar  for 
the  sober  discussion  of  political  topics,  the  other  hired  to  dis- 
seminate the  most  horrid  calumnies  !  Let  the  Attorney-General 
now  boast  of  his  impartiality ;  can  you  credit  him  on  your  oaths? 
Let  him  talk  of  his  veneration  for  the  liberty  of  the  Press ;  can 
•you  believe  him  in  your  consciences  ?  Let  him  call  the  Press 
the  protection  of  the  people  against  the  government.  Yes,  gen- 
tlemen, believe  him  when  he  says  so.  Let  the  Press  be  the  pro- 
tection of  the  people  ;  he  admits  that  it  ought  to  be  so.  Will 
you  find  a  verdict  for  him,  that  shall  contradict  the  only  asser- 
tion upon  which  he  and  I,  however,  are  both  agreed  ? 

Gentlemen,  the  Attorney-General  is  bound  by  this  admission ; 
tt  is  part  of  his  case,  and  he  is  the  prosecutor  here;  it  is  a  part  of 
the  evidence  before  you,  for  he  is  the  prosecutor.  Then,  gentle- 
men, it  is  your  duty  to  act  upon  that  evidence,  and  to  allow  the 
Press  to  afford  some  protection  to  the  people. 

Is  there  amongst  you  any  one  friend  to  freedom?  Is  there 
amongst  you  one  man,  who  esteems  equal  and  impartial  justice, 
who  values  the  people's  rights  as  the  foundation  of  private  happi- 
nes,  and  who  considers  life  as  no  boon  without  liberty?  Is  there 
.amongst  you  one  friend  to  the  constitution — one  man  who  hates 
oppression)  If  there  be,  Mr.  Magee  appeals  to  his  kindred  mind, 
and  confidently  expects  an  acquittal. 

*  Chief  Secretary  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant. 


304 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


There  are  amongst  you  men  of  great  religious  zeal — of  much 
}>ublic  piety.  Are  you  sincere  1  Do  you  believe  what  you  pro- 
toss  1  With  all  this  zeal — with  all  this  piety,  is  there  any  con- 
science amongst  you  ?  Is  there  any  terror  of  violating  your 
oaths?  Be  ye  hypocrites,  or  does  genuine  religion  inspire  ye? 
if  you  be  sincere — if  you  have  conscience — if  your  oaths  can 
control  your  interests,  then  Mr.  Magee  confidently  expects  an 
acquittal. 

If  amongst  you  there  be  cherished  one  ray  of  pure  religion — 
if  amongst  you  there  glow  a  single  spark  of  liberty — if  I  have 
alarmed  religion,  or  roused  the  spirit  of  freedom  in  one  breast 
amongst  you,  Mr.  Magee  is  safe,  and  his  country  is  served ;  but 
if  there  be  none — if  you  be  slaves  and  hypocrites,  he  will  await 
your  verdict,  and  despise  it 

And  slaves,  hypocrites,  and  bigote  they  ittwxl  thenwolves,  by  finding  a  verdict  for  th« 
Crown 


CORK  CATHOLIC  MEETING. 
August  30,  1813. 

U  E  now  approach  the  period  when  the  noted  "  Veto"  controversy  began  to  rage  in  Ireland. 
The  next  speech  of  Mr.  O'Connell's  was  delivered  during  the  progress  of  a  species  of  agitat- 
ing circuit  through  the  South  of  Ireland,  to  rally  opinion  there  against  the  measure  in 
question.  The  "  Catholic  Board  of  the  City  and  County  of  Cork"  was  understood  to  con- 
tain several  parties  favourable  to  giving  the  Government  control  over  the  nomination  of 
cur  bishops,  by  means  of  this  proposed  Veto;  and  in  order  a  littte  to  illustrate  the  divi- 
Mons  in  the  Catholic  body  generally  upon  the  measure,  we  give,  not  only  Mr.  O'Connell'u 
speech  itself,  but  also  much  of  the  newspaper  report  of  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
v  as  delivered : — 

The  most  numerous  and  respectable  meeting  of  our  Catholic  countrymen  that  has 
ever  been  witnessed  in  this  city,  was  held  on  last  Monday  (30th  August).  Pursuant  to  the 
appointment  of  the  Board,  the  place  of  meeting  was  changed  from  the  Patrick-street  Thea- 
tre to  the  Lanoasterian  School;  and  accordingly,  at  twelve  o'clock,  upwards  of  ten  thou- 
^and  persons  attended  At  this  hour,  the  members  of  the  Board  proceeded  to  take  thei^ 
i«tatft>n  in  the  School-room.  The  chair  was  placed  upon  a  small  table,  and  no  hustings 
raised,  which  created  grea*  inconvenience.  There  were  no  seats  prepared,  except  within  & 
Baling  intended  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Board  and  their  select  friends.  This  total 
r.cglect  of  arrangement,  and  the  evident  insufficiency  of  the  room  to  contain  the  thousands 
v.ho  crowded  to  the  meeting,  gave  rise  to  a  general  cry  of  adjournment,  which  no  exertions 
of  the  gentlemen  near  the  chair  could  induce  the  meeting  to  suppress.  At  length  James 
Roche,  Esq.,  proposed  John  Galway,  of  Lota,  to  311  the  chair;  and  Mr.  Galway  having 
Immediately  complied  with  this  invitation,  a  general  outcry  was  raised  against  the  propri 
•fc  of  placing  that  gentleman  In  the  chair.  He,  however,  persist?  1  in  holding  his  place; 

od  fie  opposition  of  the  meeting  continued  equally  determined.    Mr.  Roche  frequent^) 


DANIEL    O'COXXELL,    ESQ.,    M.P.  30*1 

ttid^vrrert  to  satisfy  the  meeting  of  the  fitness  of  Mr.  G.-ilwhy  to  f.ll  that  nation,  an 
rt^tr.irieurted  them  at  least  to  117  him,  but  the  general  complaint  against  the  vote  given 
ty  that  gentleman  at  the  General  Board  in  Dublin,  in  opposition  to  the  motion  of  thank* 
tc  the  p'-elates,  was  repeated  in  several  charpes,  as  replies  to  Mr.  Roche's  request.  In  the 
midst  of  this  confusion,  Counsellor  O'Regan  took  out  from  his  pocket  a  sheet  of  paper  with 
some  writing  upon  it,  which,  as  well  as  we  could  collect,  contained  the  resolutions  intended 
to  be  proposed  by  the  Board  for  the  adoption  of  the  meeting,  and  was  proceeding  to  rcv.J 
them,  ^\hen  he  was  interrupted  by  Counsellor  Mac  Donnell,  who  called  upon  him  not  t*. 
endeavour  Lu  pass  his  resolutions  in  such  a  manner,  and  at  «meh  a  moment.  Mr.  O'Regan 
did  not  then  procee'l,  but  Mr.  Ro^he  again  renewed  his  endea\ours  to  reconcile  tho  meet- 
ing to  Mr.  Galway  as  their  chairman,  but  they  would  not  consent;  and  the  opposition  hav- 
ing continued  unabated  fur  n  very  considerable  period  of  time,  Mr.  Mac  Donnei'  snggesie* 
to  the  Board  the  prudence  of  substituting  another  chairman.  No  answer  being  given  to 
this,  Mr.  Mac  Donnell  addressed  the  chair,  and  movea  that  Mr.  Roche  should  talce  the 
chair.  This  motion  was  sanctioned  by  almost  tho  unanimous  voice  of  the  meeting,  but  thtf 
questitn  was  not  put,  and  consequently  the  confusion  continued, 

Mr.  Mac  Donnell  then  proceeded  to  the  place  where  the  Board  were  assembled,  and  afte! 
some  conversation  between  Mr.  Roche  nnd  other  members  of  the  Board  with  that  gentle 
man,  Mr.  Roche  again  addressed  the  meeting,  and  begged  they  would  allow  the  Board  to 
consider  among  themselves  for  a  few  minutes,  and  that  he  could  assure  them  all  their  rea- 
sonable desires  should  be  complied  with.  This  proposition  of  Mr.  Eoche  was  loudly  cheered 
and  the  Board  proceeded  to  deliberate  for  about  ten  minutes,  w  hen  Richard  Barry,  of 
.Harry's  Lodge,  Esq.,  one  of  the  Board,  exclaimed,  in  a  very  loud  voice,  "  Will  you  suffer 
the  proceedings  of  the  day  to  go  on?"  Some  persons  from  the  crowd  replied,  "No;  net 
until  you  have  another  chairman ;"  upon  which  the  Board  retired  from  the  meeting.  This 
secession  excited  great  agitation  and  disgust  Mr.  Mac  Donnell  entreated  the  gentlemen 
present  to  observe  strict  temperance,  as  he  assured  them  they  could  not  more  gratify  the 
enemies,  tlian  by  a  violation  of  good  order.  He  suggesttxi  the  propriety  of  appointing  an- 
other chairman  at  once,  as  the  members  of  tho  Board  had  thonght  proper  to  withdraw 
He  recommended  for  tbeir  choice  a  gentleman  who  had  done  more  for  their  city  than  any 
one  of  those  who  had  then  left  them— Mr.  Timothy  Mahony,  of  Blackpool  This  proposi- 
tion u  as  received  with  '.uad  plaudits,  and  in  the  meantime  Counsellor  O'Connell  made  hia 
appearance,  and  was  immediately  caeered  by  the  greetings  and  benedictions  of  the  meet- 
icg.  He  was  conducted  to  the  chair,  and  when  the  uproar  of  patriotic  exultation  which 
his  presence  had  created  had  somewhat  subsided  he  addressed  the  meeting.  He  told  them 
that  the  success  of  their  cause  depended  on  the  unanimity  of  their  body  :  and  illustrated 
iu  a  most  happy  strain  of  eloquence,  the  advantages  of  union,  and  the  evils  of  division. 
These  propositions  were  cheered  by  unanimous  applause,  and  Mr.  O'Connell  then  finding 
the  public  feeling  to  be  so  well  disposed,  he  quitted  the  room  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  tho 
Board.  When  Mr.  O'Connell  had  retired,  Mr.  Mac  Donnell  again  proposed  Mr.  Mahony  a* 
chairman,  and  the  cry  for  Mr.  Mahony  became  general ;  but  owing  to  the  pressure  of  the 
crowd  in  the  room,  that  respectable  gentleman  had  found  it  necessary  to  retire.  On  this 
being  ascertained,  Counsellor  O'Leary  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Mac  Donnell,  and  called  to  the 
chair  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  meeting,  and,  being  conducted  thereto,  the  most  per, 
feet  order  prevailed.  By  this  time  the  heat  and  pressure  in  the  room  became  insupport 
allc,  and  several  thousands,  who  could  not  gain  admittance,  became  clamorous  for  an 
adjournment,  which  was  agreed  to  unanimously ;  and  the  meeting  adjourned,  accordingly, 
*o  an  extensive  open  plain,  immediately  adjoining  the  School  room.  When  Counsellor 
O'Leary  liad  taken  the  chair  at  this  adjourned  place  of  meeting,  Timothy  Mahony,  Esq, 
addressed  him  and  the  meeting,  stating  that  in  declining-  the  very  high  honour  they  wore 
kind  enough  to  offer  him,  he  was  not  influenced  by  any  unwillingness  to  contribute  his 
humble  mite  to  the  support  of  the  great  cauje  they  were  assembled  to  advance ;  but,  con  • 
«cious  of  his  own  feeble  abilities  to  fill  so  exalted  a  station,  he  willingly  and  gratefn*y 
resigned  the  chair  to  the  highly  able  and  respectable  gentleman  who  hud  50  p-opcrly  I  e« 
called  to  it 


306  SELECT  SPEECHES  OS 

Jseveral  most  respectable  Protestant  gentlemen  oeing  observed  at  a  distant,  thr.ro  n-«n  ,1 
general  expression  of  wishes  for  their  accommodation,  when 

Counsellor  Dennis  advwnced.  to  the  chair,  and  addresseu  the  meeting  to  the  foil  >win-> 
effect :- 

"Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen — I  beg  to  make  one  observation  :  I  am  at  this  moment 
honoured  with  being  the  mouth-piece  of  those  good  and  Torthy  Protestant  gentlemen  who 
^ave  assembled  here  to  sanction  by  their  presence,  and  assist  by  their  voices,  the  great, 
the  glorious,  and  the  just  cause  in  which  ye  and  ourselves  are  embarked.  Gentlemen,  wo 
tire  distinctly  and  deservedly  your  friends — the  friends  of  justice  and  of  truth,  because  we 
are  the  friends  of  the  Irish  people,  of  Irish  Catholics,  the  best  and  the  most  virtuous  men 
upon  tha  face  of  the  earth.  But,  gentlemen,  we  lament  to  behold  anything  like  a  division 
between  you ;  your  great  object  should  be  conciliation ;  it  is  the  desire  of  your  Protestant 
fiicnds ;  they  have  no  wish  to  indulge  in  any  but  that  of  general  conciliation,  because  the. 
know  that  if  you  do  not  draw  together,  you  give  the  triumph  to  your  bitter  and  irreeon 
tilcable  enemies.  But  when  I  look  round  and  behold  this  immense  and  respectable  meet- 
/nil,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  success.  Gentlemen,  as  your  dissenting  party  were  retiring 
liciui  you,  they  entreated  of  us,  your  Protestant  friends,  to  accompany  them,  but  we 
cfu&d,  because  we  would  not  identify  ourselves  with  any  party  in  the  Catholic  body ;  yoi« 
nmsi  allow  us  to  act  in  the  same  manner  towards  you.  No,  those  steady  and  long-trie,- 
friends  to  your  cause— Stawcll,  Beamish,  Crawford— will  not  attach  themselves  to  4i>\ 
party,  but  go  with  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  irtsh  Catholics.  Having  stated  thus,  allow 
mo  to  mention  the  resolution  we  have  come  to ;  we  will  retire  for  the  present  in  the  hope 
of  an  arrangement  between  yourselves.  Allow  me,  for  the  present,  to  depart:  accept  my 
warm  and  ardent  feeling— be  firm,  be  united,  be  unanimous  amongst  yourselves  and  your 
enlightened,  liberal,  and  patriotic  friends  wiil  be  at  their  post'* 
Counsellor  Mac  Donnell  then  addressed  the  meeting : — 

"Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen— We  have  heard  the  statement  of  Counsellor  Demis- 
the  statement  of  that  good  uml  amiable  friend.  It  is  true  we  have  a  division,  but  we  have 
no  right  to  complain  of  the  principle  which  occasions  this  division.  Gentlemen,  under  our 
circumstances,  our  ProtesUnt  friends  have  taken  a  high  and  an  exalted  stand ;  they  have 
not  descended  to  connect  themr-elves  with  that  feeble  party  which  nave  occasioned  thi* 
internal  division ;  but  the  very  circumstance  of  their  explanation  proves  the  respect  they 
Viar  to  yon ;  as  they  would  not  condescend  to  any  explanation  with  you,  if  they  did  not 
espcct  you,  and  they  arc  entitled  to  our  warmest  thanks.  Bat,  gentlemen,  without  obser-- 
mig  upon  the  conduct  of  those  persons  who  have  deserted  your  great  cause ;  yet  it  .s  a 
J.uy  we  owe  to  ourselves,  pointedly  to  mark  the  conduct  which  brought  about  this  divi- 
ion.  We  are  called  unanimously  to  pronounce  upon  the  cor.luct  of  those  arrogant  men 
i  ho  will  not  condescend  to  act  with  us,  unless  suffered  to  lead  and  drive  the  people  as 
jiey  may  choose ;  but  yet,  under  all  these  circumstances,  I  will  call  upon  you  to  give  up 
resentment — to  forget  the  injuries  they  have  done  you,  and  I  would  even  still  reach  out  the 
five,  rather  than  flourish  the  laurel.  Would  they  were  no  v  within  my  hearing,  that  they 
might  return  and  discharge  the  duty — the  imperative  duty  which  they  owe  the  great  cause 
they  are  engaged  in,  how  freely  would  we  forgive  and  forget  our  injuries;  nay,  to  the  very 
last  moment  we  will  be  ready  to  receive  them.  But  I  fear  a  disappointment ;  however,  we 
know  the  principle  upon  which  we  act,  and  we  will  be  firm  to  our  duty.  They  fancied 
they  could  assemble  a  party  in  that  building,  and  carry  their  wishes  with  a  high  hand 
iigainst  the  general  voice  of  the  people.  Gentlemen,  was  that  a  fit  hole  to  drive  this  im- 
mense assembly  into  f— (cries  of  "  no,  no.")  No,  it  was  not ;  and  even  if  it  had  bean  filled, 
certain  death  would  have  been  the  consequence  to  some.  Look  at  the  immense  concourse 
of  persons  iu  every  direction  about — Protestant  and  Catholic — and  see  if  that  was  a  lit 
place,  without  air,  seats,  or  any  accommodation  whatever  1  Yet  this  was  the  place  selected 
in  despite  of  every  remonstrance ;  and  what  was  the  precious  reason  given  by  those  gen- 
tlemen to  the  earnest  and  repeated  solicitations  made  to  them  ?  why,  gentlemen,  a  reason 
which  no  Orangeman  would  have  dared  to  have  offered,  or  dared  to  have  insulted  your  ear 
were  disinclined  to  enter  a  chapel,  at  they  war*  of  raid  of  the  cferyy" 


I>A.N1KL  o'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.T%  307 

\Vh\.  gentlemen,  at  this  day,  are  wo  forgetting  all  duty,  forgetting  all  obligation,  forget- 
ting all  truth,  constancy,  and  honour?  are  we  to  allow  ourselves  to  be  the  slaves  of  such 
coarec  and  vulgar  bigotry,  "  that  they  were  afraid  of  the  clergy  ?"  The  Catholic  clergy 
have  never  yfct  betrayed  or  neglected  'their  duty,  they  are  above  the  slanders  of  their 
calumniators.  Gentlemen,  under  the  guidance  and  direction  of  several  Catholic  gentle- 
men of  this  great  county  and  city  of  Cork,  I  will  proceed  to  submit  seme  few  resolution? 
for  your  adoption ;  but  before  I  proceed,  give  me  leave  to  observe  upon  some  suggestions 
«hlch  were  laid  before  the  committee,  by  their  own  desire,  nearly  a  fortnight  ago,  for  the 
purpose  of  their  framing  resolutions  founded  upon  those  suggestions ;  and,  gentlemen, 
rwtd  those  suggestions  now  to  you,  in  order  to  satisfy  you  that  neither  I,  nor  the  respect 
able  gentlemen  with  whom  I  had  the  honour  to  act,  ever  interfered  until  their  interference 
became  actually  necessary ;  the  following  are  the  suggestions  as  delivered  to  them  :— 

"SUGGESTED  PROCEEDINGS  FOR  THE  NEXT  AGGREGATE  MEETING. 

" '  Meeting  to  be  held  in  the  North  or  South  Chapel ;  the  keys  to  be  delivered  to  James 
Uoche,  Esq.,  previous  to  rhe  meeting. 

"  '  IMerminatlon  to  petition  for  unconditional  Emancipation. 

41  'Direct  condemnation  of  ecclesiastical  arrangements  in  the  late  bill 

"  '  Approval  of,  and  gratitude  to  the  prelates  for  their  general  conduct,  and  particular!} 
for  their  late  address  and  resolutions. 

"  '  Thanks  to  Dr.  Milner  for  his  opposition  to  the  late  ill,  and  faithful  discharge  of  his 
antics  as  ngent  to  the  Irish  bishops. 

"  '  Thanks  to  the  members  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  and  Synod  of  Ulster. 

"  '  Approbation  of  the  conduct  of  the  General  Board. 

"  '  Declaration  of  the  expiration  of  the  term  for  which  the  Cork  Board  was  appointed 
nnd  appointing  persons  who  shall  co-operate  in  Dublin  with  the  General  Board  in  present 
ing  the  petition,  Ac. ;  the  object  being  to  suspend  for  the  present  the  sittings  of  a  local 
Board.  No  resolution  to  be  proposed  of  either  approval  or  disapproval  of  the  conduct  01 
the  Cork  Board. 

"  '  Adoption  of  general  petition. . 

"Thanks  to  Donoughmore  and  friends  in  Lords.  Grattan  having  been  thanked  atla*t 
meeting,  quere  propriety  of  repetition  of  thanks  to  him,  as  Donoughmoro  was  not  theu, 
named  ? 

"  'Thanks  and  gratitude  to  John  Mugee,  Esq.,  for  his  undeviating  support  of  Catholic 
I  ntcrests.' 

"Gentlemen, 'here  Is  one  more  which  this  late  committee  did  not  think  worthy  of  btlug 
treated  even  with  common  politeness ;  it  is  a  suggestion  for  a  vote  of  thanks  to  that  fceet 
-jt  men,  and  worthiest  of  Irishmen,  Counsellor  O'Connell.  This  suggestion  was  scouted 
with  disregard,  and  flung  from  them  with  contempt,  thus  refusing  th?  empty  tribute  of  a 
simple  vote  of  thanks  to  tie  man  who  had  devoted  his  life  to  our  service.  1  will  read  the 
Suggestion : — 

"'Thank?  and  fcmtitade  to  Counsellor  O'Connell,  to  be  expressed  in  the  most  animated 
Vid  affectionate  terms.' 

The  other  suggestions  were  as  follows  :— 

" '  Determination  not  to  vote  for  any  candidate  who  will  not  pledge  bimself  to  be  a 
friend :  and  a  recommendation  to  the  Catholics  of  county  and  city  to  register  freeholds. 
"  '  Determination  to  prefer  Irish  manufacture,  and  encourage  its  prosperity ' 

Now,  pentlemen  (continued  Mr.  Mac  Donnell),  it  is  my  duty  to  proceed  to  read  tbc. 
resolutions;  in  doing  so  I  have  the  concurrence  of  respectable  gentlemen  of  both  the  city 
and  county." 

Here  Mr.  Mac  Donnell  was  interrupted  by  the  appearance  of  Counsellor  0'ConneH,  who 
hnd  returned  from  the  meeting  of  the  Board,  who  had  retired.  When  he  reached  th« 
chair,  ho  addressed  the  meeting  to  the  following  effect  :— 

Mr.  Chairmau  aud  Gentlemen — Before  my  highly  and  valu- 
iblo  friend,  Co'insellov  Mac  Donnell,  proceeds  to  read  those  resolu- 


308  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

i:ons.  I  have  a  proposal  to  make,  which,  if  it  meets  your  sanction, 
way,  under  Providence,  have  the  full  effect  of  bringiug  about  a 
general  reconciliation.  Gentlemen,  nothing  can  be  of  more 
benefit  to  us  than  unanimity ;  and  therefore  it  is  I  would  pro- 
pose, that  before  you  proceed  to  establish  a  new  Board,  or  what- 
ever other  mode  you  may  think  proper  to  pursue,  that  you  give 
the  seceders  another  opportunity  of  returning  to  their  post  and 
their  duty.  Do  not  conceive  that  1  mean  to  insinuate  that  their 
presence  is  necessary  to  establish  the  justness  of  your  proceeding. 
—No,  no,  gentlemen,  I  insinuate  no  such  matter ;  on  the  con> 
trary,  it  is  a  fact,  a  strong  fact,  that  the  moment  the  aggregate 
meeting  assembled,  their  power  was  dissolved — you  have  not 
again  elected  them,  and  they  are  as  nothing  without  your  sup- 
port. But  I  am  induced  to  this,  that  I  might  be  the  happy 
means  of  effecting  unanimity  in  this  great  county  and  city ;  my 
only  hope  is  that  of  doing  good  for  my  poor  country.  It  is  this 
feeling  for  the  good  of  old  Ireland  that  is  forcing  me  forward  in 
this  instance — and  also,  because  I  think  we  shall  be  successful. 
I  think  those  gentlemen  have  seen  their  error ;  they  begin  to 
find  they  are  nothing.  I  saw  them  a  few  moments  back,  a  few 
scattered  individuals,  in  a  corner  of  a  yard.  I  addressed  them, 
because,  though  small,  very  small  indeed  in  their  numbers,  yet, 
as  individuals,  they  are  respectable,  and  I  wished  to  undeceive 
them  of  their  errors.  I  asked  them  if  they  were  Roman  Catho- 
lics, and  could  they  talk  about  securities  ?  I  told  them  to  leave 
securities  to  the  minions  of  the  Castle — to  the  pensioned  hire- 
lings of  the  state — aye,  and  to  the  Orange  Papists  too ;  but  let 
not  them,  as  honest,  honourable,  worthy  Roman  Catholics,  insult 
the  public  ears  with  so  discordant  a  sound.  I  told  them,  that 
we  had  only  one  security  to  offer,  and  that  we  were  willing  to 
surrender  our  heart's  blood,  our  lives,  our  properties,  our  per- 
sons, in  the  front  of  the  battle.  Away,  then,  with  faction,  with 
party  and  division — give  us  Emancipation,  and  we,  in.  return, 
will  give  every  security  in  our  persons,  lives,  and  properties. 
Then  let  faction  raise  its  head,  we  will  put  it  down,  spring  from 
>\  hat  quarter  it  may.  Then  let  the  foreign  foe  pollute  our  shores, 
and  we  will  prove  our  sincerity  and  our  attachment  to  that  con- 
Htitution,  which  we  are  now  seeking  to  receive  the  benefits  of,  by 
driving  them  before  us.  At  present  how  are  we  treated  1  Some- 
1hmg  in  the  nature  of  mad  dogs,  which  they  will  not  let  loose 
without  first  tying  up  one  of  their  legs  ;  so  by  us,  they  will  give 
us  Emancipation,  after  we  give  them  security  that  we  will  be 
slaves.  Let  us  then  go  after  those  people — let  us  endeavour  to 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P. 


effect  if  possible,  an  understanding  between  the  anti-vetoistB 
and  the  Board.  We  will  endeavour  to  find  out  the  sound  and 
-he  perfect  Send  your  independent  and  honourable  chairman, 
Counsellor  O'Leary,  for  one  of  the  deputation-let  my  esteemed 
and  worthy  honest  friend,  Counsellor  Mac  Donnell,  be  another- 
let  the  Rev  Mr.  England  be  a  third  ;  he  is  too  sincere,  upon  a 
i,ood  cause,  to  deny  his  aid.  Fill  up  the  list  to  the  number  of 
ten.  I  promise  you,  if  we  gain  no  honour  in  this  affair,  we  shall 

lose  none, 

I  do  therefore  move,  Sir,  that  a  deputation  of  ten  persons  be 
appointed  to  wait  upon  the  committee,  and  commune  with  them 
on  the  present  differences  ;  and  that  they  do  return  in  one  hour 
with  their  reply. 

After  some  discussion,  Mr.  O'Connell's  motion  was  acceded  to    and  he,  with  the  follow- 
Mg  gentlemen,  were  deputed  to  communicate  *ith  the  Board  :- 

r>n  ,«B«iinr  rvT-parv  Timothy  Mahony,  Esq. 

«.  - 


South  Carolina,)  Jeremiah     urpy,  Esq. 

Francis  J.  Moloney,  Esq. 

This  deputation  accordingly  proceedsd,  and  vere  admitted  to  an  interview  with  th*> 
fjoard  in  a  tyl-chamber!  To  this  dignified  hall  of  council  the  body  in  question  had  to  re. 
.ire  from  the  hootings  of  the  people,  who  were  becoming  exceedingly  dissatisned  with 
their  proceedings.  After  two  hours'  delay  the  deputation  returned,  and  Counsellor  O'Ccn- 
nell  addressed  the  meeting. 

He  informed  them  that  there  had  been  an  unanimous  agree- 
ment come  to  on  resolutions  perfectly  without  qualification  of 
any  kind,  and  unequivocally  demanding  "  simple  repeal"  as  it 
was  phrased—  that  is,  the  unconditional  abrogation  of  the  penal 

code. 

He  further  stated,  that  the  same  unanimity  had  prevailed  with 
regard  to  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Catholic  bishops  —  and  similar 
votes  to  Grattan,  Donoughmore,  and  the  Dukes  of  Kent  and 
Sussex. 

He  added  that  the  Board,  obedient  to  the  manifestations  of 
popular  feeling  that  day  witnessed,  would  now  consider  their 
office  at  an  end  ;  and  their  body,  as  hitherto  constituted,  entirely 
dissolved  ;  but  that  they  offered  themselves  for  re-election  as 
members  of  a  Board  to  consist  of  double  the  number  of  that  tc 
which  they  had  belonged  ;  the  latter  having  been  34,  the  new 
Uoard  would  therefore,  of  course,  be  68. 

He  thus  concluded  :  — 

These  gentlemen  are  now  coming  back  repentant,  and  seeking 


310  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

y^ur  favour;  will  you  refuse  it  to  persons  repenting  theit 
errors? 

"  No,"  said  some  persons  in  the  crowd;  "we  forgive  them,  and 
may  heaven  forgive  them  /" 

Aye,  you  follow  that — the  pure  feeling  of  our  Irish  Catholics ! 
How  I  love  to  hear  such  sentiments — the  effusions  of  honesty 
bursting  from  the  heart !  Oh,  that  such  sentiments  pervuded 
the  country — then  had  we  no  need  of  meetings !  But  prove 
your  forgiveness.  The  Board  bring  with  them  the  chairman, 
whom  you,  this  day,  would  not  allow  to  preside — but  he  now 
comes  like  the  prodigal  child !  Oh,  will  you  not  receive  him 
into  your  bosoms,  and  prove  yourselves  Christians  ? 

Is  it  because  ho  has  once  done  wrong,  that  you  should  spun. 
him  through  life? 

If  he  did  vote  against  the  motion  of  thanks  to  our  bishops, 
still  he  is  now  sorry  for  it ;  no  doubt  it  was  the  error  of  his 
judgment;  but  he  sees  this  error  in  common  with  others;  re- 
ceive him  ?ud  them  cordially,  then ;  let  Mr.  Galwey  take  the 
chair,  and  we  shall  have  unanimity,  that  most  desirable  of  all 
objects  under  heaven. 

As  Counsellor  O'Coniicll  was  speaking  (says  the  Cork  Mercantile  Chronicle,  from  which 
,ve  quote),  the  Board  made  its  appearance,  and  Mr.  Galwey  addressed  the  meeting. 

HP  congratulated  the  meeting  on  the'r  prospects  of  unanimity,  and  announced  that  a  set 
of  resolutions  were  now  to  be  proposed  -twelve  certainly,  with  the  full  concurrence  of 
tnose  with  whom  he  acted— but  that  any  beyond  that  number  should  be  dealt  with  ax  mere 
Individual  suggestions  open  to  discussion  and  opposition. 

The  following  resolutions  were  accordingly  re&u  by  Jama*  Roche,  Esq.,  who  acted  as 
•ecretary  upon  the  occasion : — 

"  Resolved — That  having  confidently  anticipated  that  the  beneficenc 
.nterpositiou  of  the  legislature  would  have,  ere  now,  relieved  us  from 
the  necessity  of  a  further  expression  of  our  complaints,  we  cannot  but 
lament  the  disappointment  of  our  just  and  reasonable  expectations. 

"  Yet,  however  acutely  we  may  feel  even  the  temporary  postponement 
of  our.success,  we  consider  it  a  matter  of  real  consolation  to  have  found 
Chat  an  actual  niajority  of  the  658  members,  who  compose  the  House 
of  Commons,  have  declared  themselves  favourable  to  our  relief. 

"Resolved — That  firmly  relying  on  the  immutable  justice  of  our  cause, 
?n  the  wisdom  of  the  legislature,  and  on  the  distinguished  liberality  of 
our  Protestant  brethren,  we  will  persevere  in  every  constitutional  en- 
deavour to  obtain  the  repeal  of  those  oppressive  and  impolitic  laws  by 
which  we  are  aggrieved. 

"And  that  we  do,  therefore,  in  concert  with  our  fellow-citizens 
throughout  the  kingdom,  renew  our  earnest  applications  for  their  TOTAL 

AND  UNQUALIFIED   IlEMOVAL. 

"  Resolved— That  we  do  adopt  the  petition  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland 
and  that  it  be  referred  to  tbe  gentlemen  now  composing  the  Caih'-i 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  311 

• 

Board  for  this  county  and  city  (in  conjunction  with  the  following  names 
which  are  added  to  the  Board),  to  prepare  and  forward  it  at  such  time, 
and  in  such  manner,  as  shall  seem  to  them  most  conducive  to  theii 
success : — 

Thomas  Coppinger,  Luke  Shea, 

Counsellor  O'Leary,  Edward  Reardon, 

Philip  Harding,  Bartholomew  Foley, 

Pierce  Nag!e,jun.,  John  Morrogh, 

Dr.  Pigott,  Nicholas  Murphy, 

Jeremiah  McCarthy,  Dr.  Donegan, 

Daniel  Clanchy,  Denis  Richard  Mayland, 

John  Shinior,  Francis  Molony, 

Anthony  O'Connor,  Frederick  Shanahan, 

Counsellor  Mackey,  Alexander  M'Carthy, 

Garrett  Eagle,  Timothy  Mahony, 

Timothy  Donovan,  Francis  Molony, 

Dr.  Balwin,  Jeremiah  O'Leary 

Michael  Callaghan,  John  Cremin,  jun., 

Patrick  Russell,  James  Nicholas  Mahon, 

Maurice  O'Connell  (of  Darrynaue,)    Edmond  Hore. 
"  Resolved — That  the  said  Board  does  not  consist  of  any  representa- 
tives of  the  people,  or  of  any  part  of  the  people,  and  that  their  sittings 
be  open  and  public. 

"Resolved — That  reposing  the  most  impi.cit  confidence  in  our  revered 
prelates,  a  grateful  confidence  to  which  their  pastoral  and  personal  vir- 
tues so  eminently  entitle  them,  we  can  never  accept  of  any  legislative 
relief,  however  unlimited  in  its  political  operation,  encumbered  as  on  ^ 
late  occasion,  with  restrictions  which  they  shall  declare  contrary  to  the 
doctrines  or  discipline  of  our  Church. 

"  Resolved — That  among  the  many  able  supporters  of  our  cause  in 
parliament,  pre-eminent  and  unrivalled  stands  the  immortal  name  of 
Henry  Grattan.  The  splendour  of  his  talents,  the  extent  of  his  services, 
and  the  unabated  ardour  of  his  zeal,  in  the  advocacy  of  our  cause,  have 
justly  exalted  this  illustrious  patriot  to  the  foremost  place  in  our  esti- 
mation and  gratitude. 

"  Resolved — That  their  Royal  Highnesses  the  Dukes  of  Kent  and 
Sussex,  by  their  zealous  and  honourable  exertions  in  our  behalf,  have 
proved  themselves  the  true  supporters  of  those  principles  which  placed 
the  House  of  Hanover  on  the  throne,  and  have  received  our  attachment 
sind  gratitude. 

"Resolved — That  the  most  lively  thanks  of  the  Catholics  of  the  county 
and  city  of  Cork  are  eminently  due,  and  hereby  given  to  the  Right; 
Honourable  Earl  Donoughmore,and  the  illustrious  family  of  Hutchinson. 
for  their  uniform,  manly,  and  hereditary  support  of  our  rightful  cause. 
"Resolved — That  we  are  deeply  indebted  to  the  General  Assembly  o. 
the  Church  of  Scotland  as  well  as  to  the  Synod  of  Ulster,  for  the  libe- 
rality with  which  they  have  reapectively  declared  themselves  on  tie 
subject  of  our  claims. 
"  Resolved — That  the  zealous  and  unwearied  exertions  of  the  Earl  o» 


312  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

• 

Fingal  and  the  General  Board  of  Ireland,  in  the  cause  of  Catholic 
liberty,  claim  our  cordial  thanks. 

"Resolved — That  it  is  a  primary  and  indispensable  duty  to  obtain  for 
jurselves  that  constitutional  weight  which  the  elective  franchise  con- 
fers, and  to  acquire  for  our  parliamentary  friends,  that  legislative  im- 
portance which  can  best  ensure  the  success  of  our  cause. 

u  And  we  trust  our  body  will  carry  this  into  effect. 

"  Resolved  —That  to  relieve  the  necessities,  and  increase  the  industry 
of  a  numerous  class  of  our  distressed  fellow-countrymen,  we  mo.«t 
earnestly  recommend  to  our  countrymen,  the  exclusive  use  of  IRISH 
MANUFACTUKE." 

The  foregoing  resolutions  were  proposed  by  the  Board.  Here  follow  the  icsolution* 
partly  objected  to  .— 

"Resolved — That  the  warmest  expression  of  our  gratitude  is  due,  and 
hereby  offered,  to  that  venerable  and  indefatigable  Catholic  prelate,  the 
Right  Rev.  Dr.  Milner,  as  well  for  those  mighty  labours  which  his  grea,. 
mind  has  suggested,  as  for  that  faithful  discharge  of  the  high  trust 
reposed  in  him,  as  agent  for  the  prelates  of  Ireland,  who  have  sanctioned 
his  struggles  by  their  public  and  grateful  approval. 

"  And,  that  we  confidently  trust  he  will  proceed  in  his  exertions  for 
our  religious  preservation  and  political  redemption,  unshaken  uy  tin* 
hostility  of  false  friends,  or  false  brethren,  who  have  not  the  good 
sense  to  estimate,  or  the  spirit  to  approve,  his  generous  attachment  to 
our  cause  and  our  country. 

"  And,  that  we  feel  particularly  indebted  to  that  excellent  prelate, 
for  his  manly,  upright,  and  conscientious  opposition  tc  the  ecclesiastical 
arrangements,  submitted  to  parliament  during  the  last  session,  in  the 
bill  purporting  to  provide  for  the  further  relief  of  his  majesty's  .Roman 
Catholic  subjects. 

"  Resolved — That  our  most  grateful  thanks  are  imperatively  due,  and 
cheerfully  offered  to  that  invaluable  Irishman,  John  Magee,  Esq ,  pro- 
prietor of  the  Dublin  Evening  Post,  for  his  uudeviating  support  of  our 
cause,  and  manly  exposure  of  the  bigotry  and  profligacy  of  our  enemies 
of  every  rank  and  degree. 

"  Resolved — That  the  Roman  Catholics  of  the  county  and  city  of  Cork 
most  gratefully  admire  the  merits,  and  approve  the  worth  of  that  great 
and  good  Irishman,  the  strong  pillar  of  our  cause,  and  the  pride  o."  our 
/and,  Counsellor  O'Conndl — who,  in  the  spirit  of  constitutional  inde- 
pendence, often  has  undauntedly  stood  foremost  in  the  fight,  whenever 
the  interests  of  Ireland  were  to  be  defended,  her  rights  demanded,  or 
her  enemies  confounded. 

"  And  that  we  consider  him  particularly  entitled  to  our  most  glov- 
ing gratitude  as  Catholic  Irishmen,  for  his  virtuous  motion  in  suppor 
of  our  hierarchy,  proposed  in  the  General  Board  on  the  29th  day  <  f 
May  last,  and  triumphantly  carried  by  a  glorious  and  patriotic  majority. 

**  Resolved— That  Counsellor  Mac  Donnell,  the  patriotic  editor  of  il-e 
Mercantile  Chronicle,  the  vigilant  sentinel  of  our  rights,  the  unduunlr.' 
and  incorruptible  advo"at«'°f  i  atholic  claim?  ni«1  religious  tree«Uit>i. 


DANIEL  OCONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  313 

has  well  merited,  and  continues  to  obtain  the  entire  confidence,  sincere 
gratitude,  and  cordial  thanks  of  this  meeting,  and  that  he  be  appointed 
a  member  of  the  Board. 

"Resolved  —  That  the  cordial  thanks  of  the  meeting  are  eminently  due, 
and  hereby  given  to  Messrs  Stawells,  Beamish,  senior  and  junior,  Craw- 
ford, Cuthbert,  Blenuerhasset,  Yates,  and  many  other  Protestanl 
gentlemen  whose  presence,  and  Major  Torrens,  Counsellor  Dennis,  and 
Mr.  Jackson  Reid,  whose  eloquence  have  shed  so  bright  a  lustre  on  the 
proceedings  of  this  day. 

"  JOHN  GALWEY,  jun.,  Chairman. 

"  WILLIAM  J.  SHEEHY,  Secretary." 

"  As  chairman  and  secretary  of  the  meeting  of  the  Roman  Catholics 
of  the  county  and  city  of  Cork,  assembled  yesterday,  we  have  considered 
it  our  duty  to  authenticate  the  proceedings  by  our  signatures.  But 
lest  it  should  be  thence  inferred  that  they  had  received  our  approbation, 
v/e  do  hereby  declare  our  utter  dissent  from,  and  do  protest  against  the 
proceedings  there  adopted. 

"J.  GALWEY,  jun.,  Chairman. 

"WILLIAM  J.  SHEEHY,  Secretary." 

We  have  given  the  resolutions  in  their  advertised  form,  with  the  Chairman  and  Secre- 
tary's protest  appended  ;  and  now  revert  to  the  period  of  the  meeting  when  they  wer« 
brought  forward,  to  give  in  detail  the  proceedings  which  were  had  upon  them,  and  whi.-r 
fnsc  rise  to  this  protest,  as  well  as  to  other  occurrences  which  shall  bo  noticed  in  dud 
onltr. 

After  the  Chairman's  announcement  that  the  Board  had  •'  sanctioned"  only  the  first 
twftlre  of  these  resolutions,  and  after  the  three  which  related  to  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Milner,  to 
Jooii  Magee.  and  Mr.  O'Connell,  had  been  brought  forward,  read,  and  proposed  by  .Mr 
tlt'tC  EonneU 

Mr.  R.  Moylan  tame  forward. 

He  protested  against  the  resolutions  just  proposed  by  Mr.  Mac  Donncll—  dealing  thus 
vith  the  three  :— 

"My  first  objection  is  to  Dr.  Milner! 

*  His  tergiversation  is  known.  Ho  deceived  and  disappointed  our  friends  in  England, 
and  deceived  us  all  ;  and  his  tergiversation  is  known  and  acknowltdged  bj  all  /—(Loud 
cries  of  disapprobation.; 

"  And  upon  the  second  point  I  fear  not  to  express  my  disapprobation  of  any  Vote  flf 
thanks  to  Mr.  Magee-  a  man  generally  known  and  acknowledged  to  stand  a  COKVICTKD 


At  this  moment,  (says  the  newspaper  report,)  the  shouting  against  Mr.  Moylan  became 
very  great  ;  and  several  Protestant  gentlemen,  who  were  near  the  Chairman,  were  seen  to 
be  withdrawing. 

Order,  however,  was  restored,  with  some  difficulty;  and  Mr.  Moylan  was  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed. 

"  With  respect  to  the  third  motion,  viz.,  that  of  thanks  to  Counsellor  O'Comiell—  no  mail 
respects  his  private  worth  more  than  I  do—  but  if  I  grant  him  a  vote  of  thanks,  it  will  t* 
approving  his  public  conduct  ;  therefore  I  cannot  give  my  consent  to  any  vote  of  th/i^kg 
to  him. 

v  As  an  amendment  to  Mr.  Mac  Donnell's  motion,  I  therefore  move  the  following,  whkx 
I  am  about  to  road  :  — 

"  fc.660ive<i—  That  no  spirit  of  conciliation  has  been;  or  ever  shall  be 

x 
t 


314  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

wonting  on  our  part ;  and  that  we  are  ready  to  make  every  concession 
to  our  Protestant  brethren,  consistent  with  the  safety,  integrity,  auvi 
essential  discipline  of  our  Church." 

Mr.  Eugene  M'Sweeney,  of  Mary-street,  seconded  Mr  MoyJan's  amendment. 

Counsellor  Dennis  remonstrated,  as  a  Protestant,  against  this  proceeding  of  Mr.  Moylan's 
.»  jianicular  against  trie  use  of  such  epithets  to  such  a  person  aa  that  gentleman  had  ap- 
plied to  John  Magee. 

"  Is  he,  for  his  virtuous  consistency,  to  have  his  character  profaned,  »nd  himself  termed 

a  convicted  libeller!! Have  you  never  heard  of  Juries  being  packed,  and 

truth  being  made  a  libel  ?    Oh.  reflect !  beware !— remember  the  times  you  live  in,  and  tK 

scene*  you  have  lately  passed  through ! Feel  as  Irishmen  thould  feel     Lov 

in  your  hearts  the  hero  who  gloriously  falls  in  a  great  public  cause !"'.... 

A  tor  aa  eloquent  address  in  this  strain,  he  concluded  with  an  exhortation  to  temper 
inoder&tion  Ac.,  and  the  meeling  was  then  addressed  by— 

C07NBSLLOR  O'CoxxiiLL — Mr.   Chairman  and  Gentlemen, 
otlor  myself  to  your  notice  this  moment  with  feelings  it  is  impos- 
sible to  assume.     I  offer  myself  in  support  of  two  resolutions 
and  most  decidedly  adverse  to  the  third. 

Jt  is  wrong  of  you  to  think  of  bestowing  thanks  to  one  o 
yourselves,  who,  in  his  exertion  in  common  with  yourselves,  can 
do  no  more  than  merely  his  duty — to  fight  and  struggle  in  a 
good  cause.  But  besides  all  this,  there  is  no  man  worthy  of 
what  is  said  in  that  resolution — no  man  alive  could  deserve  the 
warmth  of  approbation  so  expressed  ;  and,  therefore,  I  do  entreat 
of  you,  as  it  entirely  regards  my  person,  to  dismiss  it  from  your 
notice  as  one  unworthy  of  occupying  your  attention.  (No,  no, 
j>ass  the  resolution.) 

But,  gentlemen,  it  is  objected  to  that  enlightened  prelate,  Dr. 
Milner,  that  he  at  one  time  agreed  to  the  veto,  but  that  after  he 
changed  his  opinion  ! 

Oh  !  would  to  God  that  any  man  who  finds  himself  in  error 
would  act  thus  nobly,  and  that,  believing  he  might  be  wrong, 
would  not  go  about  misleading  others,  but,  like  the  great  and 
good  divine,  whom  they  charge  with  tergiversation,  renounce  their 
errors  and  permit  the  public  mind  to  repose  in  peace. 

Who  are  those  men  who  charge  tergiversation  ?  Why,  they 
are  persons  who  change  hourly — such  among  them  who  have 
opinions  to  change;  for  the  majority  of  them  possess  no  opinion 
tit  all.  Who  are  those  independents,  who  have  so  lately  started 
up  amongst  you  ?  or  what  is  their  title  to  the  character  of  inde- 
pendent ?  For  my  part,  I  declare  I  do  not  know  in  woat  their 
independence  can  ezist,  except  it  be  that  no  person  can  depend 
on  thorn,  (Excessive  laughter  for  a  long  time.) 

But  yet,  these  are  the  persons  to  come  forward  and  charge 
upon  an  high-minded  and  ueeply-respected  divine,  "  te 

\ 


DANIEL  OCONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  315 

fion,w  because  upon  a  point  of  vital  and  most  essential  impor- 
tance, where  his  great  mind  was  awaLened  to  a  sense  of  the 
threatening  danger  by  the  honest  remonstrance  of  his  virtues- 
brethren,  he  calmly  listens  to  the  dictates  of  conscience —  • 
considers,  and  finding  his  error,  open:^,  honestly,  and  man'  ;ly 
avows  it ! 

He  did  not  allow  his  illumined  mind  to  be  obscured  by  tha 
doctrines  of  this  world.  No  selfish  vanity,  no  worldly  pride, 
prevented  him  from  retracting  his  errors  :  he  did  so  ;  and  like 
a  man,  whose  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world,  as  publicly  A.S  na 
had  erred,  were  his  sorrow  and  his  regret.  And,  gentlemen,  w hat 
is  Doctor  Milner  after  all  but  a  man  1  Can  you  expect  more  of 
him  than  you  will  allow  to  all  other  men  ?  It  is  the  lot  of  hu- 
man nature  to  err  ;  but  it  is  only  in  the  greatness  of  virtue  to 
retract  and  feel  regret.  (Cheers.) 

But  look  at  the  erudite  politicians ;  it  is  really  surprising  how 
modest,  meek,  and  humble  those  enlightened  independents  are  ; 
the  population  of  Ireland  declare  against  all  vetoism,  under  all 
and  every  shape  and  form,  and  these  two  youths  came  forward, 
the  one  to  propose,  the  other  to  second  a  resolution,  for  what  ? 
For  provisional  securities  !  That  is,  you  have  declared  against 
vetoism  ;  now  under  the  other  name  of  provisional  securities,  grant 
it ;  and  thus  you  become  tergiversators  ? 

They  come  forward  to  give  one  proposition,  which  they  turn 
into  an  adjective,  and  the  other  into  a  substantive,  and  which 
substantive  cannot  support  the  adjective  ;  and  this  is  the  doc- 
trine and  precious  argument  upon  which  you  are  called  upon  to 
defame  the  character  and  wound  the  feelings  of  one  of  the  most 
learned  and  able  men  in  England  !  A  prelate  who  is  now  op- 
posed in  England  by  a  vile  faction,  more  disgraceful,  and  pos- 
sessing worse  passions,  than  the  infuriated  anarchial  faction  which 
desolated  and  laid  waste  the  happiness  of  society  in  France. 
The  latter  were  a  faction  which  have  brought  their  country  under 
a  wicked  military  despotism  that  has  ended  in  subverting  the 
liberties  and  privileges  of  mankind.  But  the  faction  in  England 
are  still  more  wicked,  because  they  are  the  determined  enemies 
of  everything  virtuous,  liberal,  honest,  and  enlightened  !  And 
this  is  the  vile  faction  which  would  seek  to  bow  his  gray  head 
in  sorrow  to  the  grave.  They  endeavoured  to  cast  him  down ; 
but  Ireland  met  him  in  his  fall,  and  upheld  him.  (Cheers.) 

How  glad  I  should  be  to  know  those  people  who  are  here  dis- 
posed to  act  against  reason  and  good  sense !  How  gladly  would 
I  labour  to  convince  them  of  their  error.  But  why  should  I 


516  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

Tjose  time  ?  Who  are  they  ?  What  are  they  1  Where  are  their 
numbers  ?  Is  there  another  man  in  this  immense  meeting  to 
join  these  two  youths?  Oh,  that  they  could  count  our  numbers 
this  day  ?  Will  they  call  for  a  division  ?  Oh,  for  tellers  to 
enumerate  our  majority  ?  Oh,  what  an  appearance  those  dis- 
senters would  exhibit  !  What  !  a  minority  of  two  or  four  to 
countless  thousands  ?  And  what  do  they  dissent  from  ?  From 
the  very  principle  now  laid  down  by  the  Board  itself.  Mr. 
Roche  just  told  us.  the  simple  repeal  was  the  defined  intention 
of  the  Board  ;  nay,  it  is  one  of  the  resolutions  which  you  have 
just  now  carried  ;  yet  those  dissenters  talk  of  an  amendment  of 
the  securities.  Mr.  Roche  is  the  identical  gentleman  who  has  se- 
conded this  motion  of  thanks  introduced  by  Mr.  Mac  Donnell,  to 
Dr.  Milner,  yet,  this  young  gentleman  would  tell  you  to  reject  it. 
They  talk  of  securities  ;  some  of  the  Board  were  satisfied  with 
the  late  bill,  and  voted  against  your  bishop  in  Dublin ;  and  upon 
this  it  is,  perhaps,  that  those  gentlemen  dare  to  talk  of  security : 
but  your  Board  have  retracted  from  that  conduct,  and  they  have 
found  favour. 

We  will  make  no  charges  of  tergiversation,  nor  will  we  blame 
those  unreflecting  young  gentlemen,  if  they  now  retract  their 
errors.  But  I  will  tell  those  people  that  are  satisfied  with  the 
late  bill,  that  so  far  as  being  a  bill  of  relief,  it  was  anything  else 
than  a  charter  for  emancipation.  Oh  !  how  proud  I  am  of  the 
unanimity  I  perceive  upon  this  great  point ;  it  will  be  a  delight- 
ful consolation  to  the  already  tortured  feelings  of  the  good  old 
prelate  !  He  has  broken  no  faith  with  you  ;  there  has  been  no 
breach  of  contract ;  he  has  watched  with  a  guardian's  care  over 
our  interests ;  he  is  too  honest,  too  sincere,  too  virtuous  to  de- 
ceive Ireland ;  he  possesses  a  combination  of  all  the  qualities, 
and  all  the  excellences  which  should  compose  the  aged  prelate, 
and  amongst  all  these  great  qualifications  and  virtues,  there  is 
but  one  thing  bad  about  him,  he  has  for  us,  perhaps,  too  much 
of  the  Englishman  about  him. 

But,  gentlemen,  when  I  turn  my  thoughts  on  the  other  branch 
of  Mr.  Moylan's  speech,  what  are  my  feelings  ?  Oh  !  for  the 
pensioned  minions  of  the  Castle  !  Oh  !  for  the  Attorney-Gene- 
ral and  the  prosecutors  of  Catholics  to  stand  up  here  to-day  and 
behold  a  Catholic  rise  up  in  a  Catholic  Assembly,  and  pronounce 
JOHN  MAGEE  a  convicted  libeller !  ! !  If  you  would  reflect 
upon  the  thousands  of  which  you  are  daily  deprived,  to  bestow 
upon  the  wretched  hireling  prints  of  the  day;  if  you  could  know 
the  sums  lavished  upon  the  dull  and  stupid  Patriot — upon  the 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  317 

vile  and  proverbially  profligate  Correspondent,  to  abuse,  revile, 
and  condemn  the  people — to  blazon  forth  a  bigoted  ministry— 
you  would  soon  discover  that  the  enlightened  and  patriotic 
writer  of  the  Dublin  Evening  Post,  which  has  the  confidence  of 
the  people,  and  a  circulation  throughout  the  empire,  would  have 
been  gladly  and  eagerly  purchased  up  !  How  might  then  such 
a  young  gentleman,  so  educated,  so  enlightened,  be  received  at 
the  Castle!  how  he  might  have  made  his  way  among  the  minions 
?f  a  court,  instead  of  his  being  calumniated  as  a  convicted  libeller1 
Oh,  for  a  packed  jury  in  some  trying  case,  where  Mr.  Moylanfc 
feelings  or  interests  were  concerned,  to  make  him  know  the  effects 
Df  courtly  influence ! 

If  this  Mr.  Moylan  had  seen  the  masters  of  Orange  lodges  sit- 
ting upon  the  jury  of  John  Magee,  he  could  not  long  have  hesi- 
tated to  decide  that  John  Magee  would  have  been  declared  a 
convicted  libeller.  If  Mr.  Moylan  had  been  placed  under  snob 
circumstances,  however  innocent  his  conduct,  he  too  would  have 
l»een  declared  a  convicted  libeller.  But  of  what  was  he  con- 
victed ?  That  he  truly  described  the  character  of  the  Duke  of 
Richmond's  administration.  Is  it  not  in  all  your  recollections, 
that  this  great  duke  dined  at  the  mayor's  feast  in  this  very  city  ? 
— that  he  on  that  occasion  refused  to  drink  the  toast  proposed 
of  "the  glorious  and  immortal  memory?" — and  yet,  is  it  not  a 
fact,  that  this  great  duke  did  actually  pardon  Hall,  the  Orange- 
man, the  murderer  of  the  only  son,  and  only  support  of  a  poor 
aged  widow?  Did  this  noble  duke  bring  to  punishment  the 
murderers  of  the  Catholics  at  Curruginsheega?  No.  And  yet 
this  noble  duke,  with  the  Attorney-General  at  his  elbow,  brings 
a  prosecution  bravely  into  a  court  of  law,  to  defend  the  purity 
of  his  administration  in  Ireland;  a  jury  of  Orangemen  are  em- 
pannelled  ;  they  find  truth  is  a  libel ;  and  they  find  that  John 
Magee  is  the  libeller. 

Let  this  noble  duke  enjoy  the  fame  lie  has  reaped  in  this  great 
exploit.  I  tell  him,  John  Magee  is  happier  in  his  mind,  confined 
within  the  dungeon  of  a  prison,  than  that  lord  duke  is  new  in 
his  palace,  and  that  when  the  memory  of  that  lord  duko  shall 
bo  forgotten  in  our  land,  or  only  recollected  with  disgust  and 
horror,  the  name  of  Magee,  the  independent  proprietor  of  the 
Dublin  Evening  Post,  shall  be  hailed  as  the  proud  and  stern  ad- 
vocate of  a  nation's  rights,  and  the  glorious  victim  of  persecution 
aui  proscription.  To  be  sure  he  is  now  in  Kilmainham  prison; 
but  he  feels  no-pain-  for  himself;  he  only  feels  for  his  country — • 
for  yo»*  my  Catholic  countrymen  j  but  yea,  he  will  feel  pain 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

when  he  hears  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  Catholics  at  Cork,  a 
Catholic  Irishman  rose  uj  and  sailed  hin  c,  convicted  libeller! 
But  I  call  on  this  young  man,  not  to  discredit  his  mime  and 
\is  family  by  this  transaction  ;  I  call  upon  him  to  retract ;  it  is 
the  only  means  left  him. 

[Mr.  Moylan  here  said  he  would  not,  and  oao  person  M.d   be  could  not,  «»he  was 
pledged  to  persevere  in  it.] 

Well  then,  there  is  no  way  left  but  to  divide  upon  it ;  but  how 
can  it  be  accomplished1?  Well,  is  it  not  provoking  that  we  can- 
not see  what  majority  they  will  have  against  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
John  Magee?  There  he  is  in  Kilmainham,  in  the  bloom  of 
youth,  with  a  head  clear  at,d  intelligent,  his  genuis  bright  and 
brilliant,  his  heart  virtuous  and  incorruptible.  Yes,  my  country- 
men, his  head  is  as  clear  as  his  heart  is  honest ;  he  is  a  true 
Irishman,  and  I  pride  myself  in  calling  him  my  friend.  He  is 
ardently,  really,  honestly  attached  to  his  country;  he  has  cause 
to  be  so  ;  he  is  deeply  interested  in  her  peace,  tranquillity  and 
glory.  He  would  call  out  to  her  aid,  and  to  the  aid  of  the  state, 
an  unbought  army  of  Irishmen,  and  for  these  virtues  he  is  sen- 
tenced to  linger  out  two  years  in  a  dungeon  1 

When  it  will  be  imparted  to  Mr.  Magee  that  this  vote  of 
thanks  passed  this  meeting,  his  honest  heart  will  rejoice ;  but 
what  will  be  his  pleasure  when  he  is  informed,  that  if  there  were 
an  objection  he  will  see  that  it  only  called  out  the  greater  spirit 
in  the  people,  he  will  see  that  it  gave  more  gravity,  more  weight, 
more  consequence  to  the  measure.  (Cheering.) 

My  good  friends,  guard  yourselves  against  division ;  be  watch- 
ful of  those  that  seek  to  divide  you ;  these  divisions  have  put 
down  Ireland — a  continuance  of  them  will  destroy  the  finest  and 
fairest  country  in  the  world.  We  have  no  intense  heat  in  sum- 
mer to  dry  up  the  earth ;  we  have  no  chilling  colds  in  winter  to 
freeze  us ;  we  are  the  most  light-hearted  people  upon  any  shore ; 
for  seven  hundred  years  our  spirit  has  continued  unsubdued. 
We  were  never  beaten  in  any  battle ;  on  one  occasion  we  sub- 
mitted to  an  agreement,  a  compact,  and  that  compact  was  brokea 
not  by  us,  but  by  those  who  pledged  themselves  solemnly  to  its 
fulfilment.  Why,  then,  should  we  be  abused?  Why  insulted! 
Why  doubted  in  our  honour,  in  our  integrity?  At  ail  eventa, 
why  quarrel  among  ourselves?  (Cheers.) 

If  it  were  not  for  these  cursed  divisions,  Ireland  would  be  the 
paradise  of  the  world.  (Cheers.) 

With  respect  to  the  third  motion  before  you,  I  shall  be  short. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.F.  319 

particularly  as  it  regards  myself.  When  I  direct  my  attention 
1o  the  great  cause  I  am  engaged  in,  I  could  not  but  anticipate 
the  assaults  which  would  be  made  against  me :  yet,  I  set  out 
with  a  fixed  determination,  that  though  I  may  be  deprived  of 
abilities  to  serve,  yet,  I  knew  I  had  a  heart  to  feel,  and  thus  em- 
boldened, I  trusted  more  to  the  excellence  of  our  good  cause, 
than  the  talent  of  the  advocate ;  and  if  I  have  in  any  degree 
been  conducive  to  the  great  interests  of  Catholic  Ireland,  I  re- 
joice ;  nor  shall  the  slanders,  or  the  vile  malignities  of  my  one- 
mies  deter  me. 

I  WILL  GO  ON,  and  the  more  I  am  maligned,  the  more  will  I  be 
pleased,  and  hope  for  the  prospect  of  success,  nor  will  I  ever  doubt 
myself,  until  I  shall  hear  those  wretched  hirelings  of  corruption 
teem  forth  odious  praise  to  me!  Then  doubt  me,  but  not  till  then. 

Externally  and  internally  I  will  fight  the  enemies  of  us  all ; 
they  are  sometimes  to  be  found  nearer  to  us  than  we  can  sus- 
pect, and  they  are  the  more  dangerous  for  that.  I  have  conti- 
nued to  labour,  and  will  continue  so  to  do.  But,  adopt  not  this 
exaggerated  praise  offered  to  me  here  to-day ;  it  is  not  possible 
I  could,  or  any  man  could  be  deserving  of  it.  I  give  up  this 
point  to  Mr.  Moylan  ;  I  make  Mr.  Moylan  a  present,  :f  his  mo- 
tion, and  let  him  give  us  the  rest.  (Lo^d  and  persevering  cries 
of  no,  no !  we  will  not,  we  will  not !) 

Then,  beforehand,  I  thank  you,  sincerely  and  honestly  I  thank 
you ;  it  enjourages,  it  cheers  me  on ;  I  here  want  language  to 
express  my  feelings  ;  /  will  stand  by  you  while  I  live;  I  WILL 
NEVER  FORSAKE  POOR  IRELAND. 

When  the  enthusiasm  of  the  auditory,  after  the  foregoing  speech,  subsided  enough  tc  give 
Mm  a  hearing,  Mr.  James  Roche  again  came  forward  and  seconded  Mr.  O'Connell's  pro- 
tost  against  Moylan's  amendment. 

After  s  nifl  further  speaking,  Mr.  Moylan's  amendment  to  Mr.  Mac  Donnell's  three  reso 
jltions  was  put,  with  the  following  result,  according  to  the  calculations  of  the  newspaper*  :- 
For  the  amendment 
For  the  votes  of  thanks  to  the  Right  Rev.  Dr  Milner  John 

Magee,  and  Daniel  O'Conuell,  Esqra..  10  001 


MEETING  OF  THE  CORK  CATHOLIC  BOAREV 
September  3rd,  1813. 

THK  report  of  the  above  meeting,  which  Is  from  the  Cork  Mercantile  Chronicle, 

that  a  mistake  Laving  delayed  the  attendance  of  the  press,  they  found  Mr.  O'ConneU 

speaking. 

He  proceeded  to  say  that  in  whatever  point  of  vievr  he  ccn- 


320  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Bidered  the  protest,  signed  by  several  of  the  Roman  Catholics  o. 
the  county  and  city,  the  resignation  of  several  members  of  the 
Board,  and  the  consequent  division  between  them  and  the  body 
at  large,  he  would  say  it  was  to  him  a  source  of  regret,  because 
he  was  well  assured,  and  well  convinced,  that  unanimity  waa 
strength,  and  division  weakness. 

Ireland  would  never  have  fallen  from  the  pinnacle  of  grandeur 
upon  which  she  stood  as  a  nation,  but  for  the  division  of  hei 
children ;  and  it  was  often  said — he  hoped,  not  truly — that  if 
any  Irishman  were  put  to  the  torture,  another  would  be  found 
to  mm  the  wheel.  H«  lid  not,  even  upon  reviewing  these  divi 
uions  and  distractions,  and  the  steps  taken  by  the  protestors,  yet 
give  up  the  idea  of  beholding  a  spirit  of  conciliation  pervade  the 
Catholics  of  the  county  and  city  of  Cork ;  he  sincerely  hoped 
they  would  see  ihe  necessity  of  union  and  harmony,  and  that 
every  man  would  discharge  his  duty  by  his  country ;  and  if  the 
seceders  obstinately  refused  to  return  to  their  post,  he  knew  the 
gentlemen  composing  the  present  Board,  having  the  confidence 
and  support  of  the  people,  would  transact  the  affairs  of  the  great 
body  of  the  Catholics,  and  discharge  the  great  trust  reposed  in 
them,  with  honour,  dignity,  and  integrity ;  and  the  public  would 
not  ultimately  have  to  regret  either  the  secession  of  supposed 
friends  or  real  enemies. 

Amongst  the  signatures  to  the  requisition  of  the  Board,  and 
to  those  of  the  protest  he  was  alluding  to,  he  saw  those  of  several 
of  the  most  respectable  and  enlightened  men  of  the  county  and 
city;  and  why  those  characters  have  seceded  from  the  general 
wish  was  yet  to  be  ascertained. 

Was  it  because  they  objected  to  the  13th  resolution,  passed  at 
the  aggregate  meeting  ?  No,  it  could  not  be  ;  because  this  re- 
solution, which  was  one  of  thanks  to  Doctor  Milner,  was  seconded 
by  James  Roche,  one  of  the  most  independent  members  of  the 
late  Board. 

Was  it,  then,  on  account  of  the  14th  resolution,  which  was 
one  of  thanks  to  Mr.  John  Magee,  the  independent  proprietor  of 
the  Dublin  Evening  Post,  and  offering  himself  the  consolation  of 
the  public  sympathy  ?  No  !  for  this  resolution  met  the  support 
of  several  members  of  the  Board.  They  could  not  refuse  their 
nympathy  to  the  sufferings  of  a  man  who  had,  for  a  series  of 
years,  devoted  his  talents  and  his  fortune  in  fighting  their  bat- 
tles, and  supporting  their  right  to  freedom — a  man  who  had  em 
barked  his  fame  on  the  success  of  their  cause,  and  for  which  he 
altimately  brought  upon  himself  the  vengeance  of  the  govern 


DANIEL  O'CONNKLL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  321 

n.ent.  The  smallest  opposition  to  such  a  resolution  from  one  of 
that  body  would  afford  him  more  real  pain  than  the  imprison- 
ment of  two  years,  to  which  he  has  been  consigned. 

Was  it,  then,  in  consequence  of  the  15th  resolution,  adopted 
at  Monday's  meeting  ?  He  could  not  conceive  it  was.  That  re- 
solution was  seconded  by  Mr.  T.  Denehy,  one  of  the  Board,  and 
supported  by  several  other  members  of  that  body.  This  vote 
was  one  of  compliment  to  himself.  He  considered  that  indeed 
it  should  be  nattering  that  his  poor  exertions  in  the  cause  of  his 
country  met  the  approbation  of  the  meeting ;  but  much  as  he 
valued  that  sentiment,  he  would  freely  *forego  the  pleasure  it  af- 
forded him,  if  it  tended  in  the  smallest  degree  to  create  any  di- 
vision or  disunion  among  the  Catholic  body. 

For  himself,  he  wished  for  freedom  much ;  for  his  children,  he 
wished  for  it  more  j  but  he  sought  and  wished  for  that  blessing 
much  more  for  his  enslaved  and  afflicted  country.  For  this  grand 
object  he  fought  unceasingly  and  unremittingly,  and  encountered 
obstacles  and  difficulties  that  could,  most  probably,  have  dismayed 
a  man  of  a  less  ardent  or  sanguine  mind.  (Great  cheering.) 

He  would  ask,  was  it  to  the  16th  resolution  the  Board  and 
protestors  so  strongly  objected?  This  certainly  was  one  of  the 
reasons  that  induced  the  resignation  cf  the  Board ;  and  he  would 
not  have  presumed  to  say  so,  but  that  it  was  publicly  avowed  by 
the  majority  of  that  body.  They  declared  they  would  not  act  with 
Counsellor  Mac  Donnell.  He,  as  well  as  the  other  members  of 
the  Board,  was  appointed  by  the  only  legitimate  authority — that 
is,  by  the  voice  of  the  people,  at  the  aggregate  meeting ;  and 
they  had  no  right  to  question  that  appointment ;  neither  had 
they  the  power  to  resign  that  authority  with  which  they  were 
invested,  until  they  did  so  to  the  people  at  the  next  aggregate 
assembly.  Therefore  there  was  no  legal  resignation  of  the  Board ; 
they  were  still  in  existence  as  members  of  that  body ;  and  he 
still  entertained  the  fond  hope  that  they  would  surrender  any 
irritated,  disappointed,  paltry  feeling,  at  the  shrine  of  concilia- 
tion, and  as  men  of  honour,  give  credit  to  the  public  voice,  and 
return  to  the  post  they  would  appear  to  have  deserted. 

He  would  like  to  meet  the  members  among  the  protestors  who 
were  security-men,  and  those  who  considered  themselves   not 
eecurity-men,  and  who  might  have  signed  that  document  from 
other  causes,  in  fair  reasoning  and  argument.    He  would  wish  to 
give  any  man  credit  for  the  purity  and  honesty  of  his  motives 
and  as  a  diversity  of  opinion  existed  among  them,  it  was  per 
fectly  natural,  among  men  exercising  their  own  free  judgment* 


322  SELECT  SPEECHES  O» 

upon  great  national  and  political  questions,  in  which  all  were 
equally  interested  ;  while  he  would  pay  his  tribute  of  respect  to 
their  opinions,  even  though  erroneous,  he  would  endeavour  to 
correct,  by  calm  discussion  and  plain  truths,  the  fallacy  of  then* 
judgments  and  opinions. 

He  hoped  there  was  some  person  present  that  would  convey 
to  those  security-men  the  reasons  why  those  securities  cannot  be 
complied  with  ;  because  it  would  be  entrusting  to  the  hands  of 
men  who  were  no  judges  of  their  religion — either  of  its  tenets  or 
discipline — a,nd  who  could  feel  no  anxiety  in  its  support  or  pre- 
servation, but  the  contrary,  the  management  of  its  affairs,  and 
the  appointment  of  its  hierarchy ;  and  even  though  we  were 
disposed  to  join  the  Orangemen  in  giving  up  our  religion  into 
such  hands,  we  would  not  do  so  without  the  previous  consent  of 
the  Pope.  This  the  Bishops  have  unanimously  declared ;  and 
it  is  out  of  the  nature  of  things  that  the  Pope  could  be  consulted 
at  present — and  when  he  could,  it  was  impossible  to  tell. 

Unfortunately  the  Pope  is  under  the  power  of  Bonaparte.  It 
is  the  interest  of  that  military  despot  that  the  divisions  and  ani- 
mosities existing  in  the  empire  should  be  kept  alive  and  conti- 
nued. He  is  proud  that  the  Roman  Catholic  millions  of  this 
country  should  be  kept  in  slavery,  knowing  that  the  power  of 
England  is  thereby  weakened  ;  and  though  we  did  offer  the  se- 
curities required,  we  cannot,  from  Bonaparte's  conduct  hitherto, 
suppose  him  the  dupe  of  such  extreme  absurdity  and  folly  as  to 
Buffer  any  communication  with  the  Pope  which  would  tend  to 
heal  the  divisions  amongst  the  people  of  the  empire. 

It  was  absurd  to  think  of  the  idea  ;  and  it  was  equally  absurd 
to  press  those  securities  (which  could  not  be  given,  though  we 
were  satisfied  to  do  so)  as  a  bar  to  the  freedom  of  a  brave,  loyal, 
a-id  suffering  people. 

There  are  (said  Mr.  O'Connell)  fourteen  Roman  Catholic  dio- 
ceses at  present  vr-cant  in  this  country  ;  and  it  is  impossible  to 
appoint  bishops  to  them,  because  there  can  be  no  communica- 
tion had  with  the  Pope.  His  approbation  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary ;  and  will  it  be  contended  that  those  bishoprics  would  be 
continued  thus  vacant,  if  the  Pope's  approbation  in  the  appoint- 
ment could  be  dispensed  with  ?  It  is  a  part  of  the  discipline  of 
the  Catholic  Church  that  cannot  be  given  up ;  and  however 
those  security-men  may  pant  for  freedom,  the  great  body  of 
the  Catholics  would  not  accept  it  in  barter  for  their  religion. 

"  Sut,"  say  those  x/no  clamour  for  those  securities,  "  ?f  the 
present  Pope  died,  Bonaparte  would  undoubtedly  raise  lo  tiia 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  323 

Papal  chair  his  uncle,  Cardinal  Fesch."  Be  it  so.  He  was 
willing  to  meet  them  upon  every  fair  ground.  They  say,  if 
Cardinal  Fesch  was  the  Pope,  he  would  be  the  creature  of  Bona- 
parte, and  subject  to  his  control ;  and  having  the  nomination  o* 
the  Catholic  Bishops  of  Ireland,  he  would  only  appoint  such 
men  tc  that  dignity  as  would  be  disaffected  to  the  British  go- 
vernment, and  who  would  best  suit  the  views  of  Bonaparte, 

Cardinal  Fesch  i  who  is  in  disgrace  with  his  nephew,  and  in 
exile,  because  he  opposed,  and  would  not  sanction  his  -marriage 
"w  ith  his  present  wye  / 

Was  the  man  who  thus  opposed  Bonaparte,  and  refused  to  lend 
himself  to  his  ambitious  or  capricious  views,  likely  to  degrade 
and  disgrace  the  Papal  chair,  by  submitting  to  his  will  in  the 
appointment  of  bishops  for  this  country  ?  In  time  of  war,  he 
could  not  be  at  all  consulted  for  that  purpose  ;  and  if  peace  were 
brought  about  previous  to  Catholic  emancipation,  who  would 
expect  the  attainment  of  that  measure  from  the  British  ministry'? 

There  were  thirty-four  bishoprics  vacant  in  France  at  present, 
because,  that  same  Cardinal  Fesch  would  not  submit  that  his 
nephew  should  have  the  least  control  in  their  appointment.  He 
would  not  suffer  that  one  of  them  should  be  filled  by  any  of  his 
creatures ;  and  if  this  be  the  principle  by  which  the  cardinal  is 
governed  in  the  country  where  Bonaparte  rules  with  despotic 
sway,  is  it  to  be  supposed  that  when  tnis  country  shall  be  at 
peace  with  France,  he  will  act  upon  a  different  principle  in  the 
appointment  of  bishops  for  this  country,  in  which  Bonaparte 
can  have  then  no  interest  whatever  ? 

Yet  the  British  ministry  demand  those  securities  which  were 
attached  to  the  bill  almost  passed  in  the  house  of  parliament — 
and  these  prepared  by  men  who  did  not  understand  our  religion  ; 
yet  they  undertook  to  regulate  that  which  they  knew  nothing 
about,  without  consulting  one  Roman  Catholic  prelate,  clergy- 
man, or  layman.  And  this  was  called,  in  this  city,  a  charter  of 
Emancipation ! ! 

We  cannot  surrender  our  religion  into  the  hands  of  such  men. 
If  we  were  disposed,  we  could  not  do  BO.  We  will  give  them  se- 
curity, however.  We  will  share  with  them  our  prosperity  and 
our  blood  ;  and  if  they  want  a  precedent  for  enacting  a  charter 
of  Emancipation,  and  for  their  redeeming  their  brethren  and 
country  fr^m  slavery  and  bondage,  we  will  give  them  the  pre- 
cedent of  the  Diet  of  Hungary,  who  were  exclusively  Roman 
Catholic.  That  independent  body,  in  1791,  granted,  without 
veto  or  securi'jes,  the  privilege*  ofeihe  state  to  Protestants,  and 


SELECT  SPEECHES  O? 

uvcry  other  religionists,  and  embraced  their  countrymen  as  bro- 
thren.  This  passed  only  twenty  years  ago,  and  it  was  a  noble 
example  set  to  other  nations.  Let  the  British  act  towards  Irish- 
men with  the  same  spirit  of  freedom  and  conciliation,  and  they 
would  be  found  to  live  in  the  hearts  of  a  proud,  brave,  and  en- 
thusiastic nation. 

It  was  remarkable  that  amidst  all  the  agitation  of  the  Catho- 
lic question  throughout  Ireland — and  he  felt  pride  in  stating  it 
—no  spirit  of  disaffection  was  to  be  traced  amongst  its  people; 
that  though  they  called  aloud  for  Emancipation,  they  pursued 
their  legitimate  object  loyally  and  constitutionally.  At  the  dif- 
ferent assizes  throughout  the  country  for  the  last  circuit,  not  an 
individual  was  charged  with  being  disaffected  to  the  government. 
No;  not  a  single  person  was  even  tried  upon  the  Whiteboy  Act, 
and  this  argued  the  quiet  and  undisturbed  state  of  the  country ; 
and  this  fact  he  would  throw  in  the  face  of  the  hirelings  who 
would  attempt  to  charge  the  agitators  of  the  Catholic  question 
with  disaffection.  The  people  of  the  country  caught  at  the  sym- 
pathy offered  them  by  their  agitators,  and  in  this  sympathy  was 
peace  and  harmony  preserved. 

He  would  again  revert  to  the  protestors.  lie  could  not  well 
divine  their  meaning ;  and  amongst  the  rest,  there  was  one  pro- 
testor who  stood  alone — he  meant,  Mr.  John  Boyle.  Neither 
could  he  well  tell  what  was  intended  by  his  protest.  All  he 
would  say  of  him  was,  that  he  considered  him  a  man  endowed 
with  talent ;  and  if  he  had  a  little  ballast  with  the  sail,  he 
thought  he  would  prove  a  respectable  and  useful  Irishman. 

If  those  protestors  succeeded  to  the  utmost,  they  might  form 
a  body  of  one,  or  two,  or  throve  hundred  persons — they  were  cer- 
tainly, in  point  of  prosperity,  men  of  consequence  and  respecta- 
bility, but  in  point  of  numbers,  insignificant  indeed;  if  they 
continue  their  desertion  of  the  popular  feeling,  they  will  be 
opposed  to  five  millions  of  their  fellow-slaves — and  they  will  be 
spoken  of  through  Ireland  with  contempt — they  will  appear  as 
if  fighting  against  their  country.  At  one  period,  Lord  Fingal. 
and  several  of  the  most  respectable  persons  seceded  from  *he 
general  and  popular  feeling,  and  in  a  very  short  tim*»  they  found 
they  had  a  sacred  duty  to  perform,  and  they  returned. 

He  did  hope  that  the  seceders  in  Cork  would  be  found  to  act 
with  the  like  good  sense — that  they  would  return  ;  the  present 
members  of  the  Board  invited  them  to  join  in  the  sacred  cause 
in  which  all  were  alike  interested,  and  have  pointed  out  the  bane- 
ful effects  of  disunion  upon  the  country*  &t  other  periods  of  bar 
history. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  325 

If,  however,  they  persevered  in  the  desertion,  he  said  he  wu8 
convinced  that  the  Board  would  hereafter  be  governed  by  th 
spirit  of  harmony  towards  all  their  brethren,  that  was  breathed 
throughout  the  resolutions  then  passed  ;  that  they  would  watch 
the  interests  of  their  cause,  aided  by  the  voice  of  the  people  by 
whom  they  were  chosen,  with  firmness  and  temper,  and  that  the 
protestors  would  be  found  only  as  flies  on  the  wheel  in  its  motion . 

Mr.  O'Connell  then  read  the  first,  second,  third,  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  resolutions,  which 
were  put  by  the  chair  and  carried  unanimously. 

On  the  sixth  being  put,  Mr.  O'Connell  said  he  hoped  he  wouid 
be  excused  saying  a  few  words.  It  was  not  necessary  to  arouse 
the  people  of  Cork  to  a  sense  of  the  obligations  they  owed,  in 
unison  with  every  Irishman,  to  the  illustrious  family  of  tho 
Hutchinsons ;  the  last  elections  called  their  particular  attention 
to  the  registry  of  freeholders,  and  they  have  acted  upon  it ;  the 
resolutions  then  read  would  still  operate  as  a  further  stimulud 
upon  them  for  exertion.  If  the  late  Board  had  made  or  adopted 
proper  arrangements  previous  to  the  election,  and  if  a  spirit  of 
apathy  had  not  seized  them,  this  great  and  commercial  city  would 
not  be  represented  by  Dumley  Longfield — nor  robbed,  as  it  was 
now,  of  its  true  and  honest  representative,  the  patriotic  Christo- 
pher Hely  Hutchinson.  (Cheers.) 

Mr.  T.  S.  Coppinger  and  Counsellor  Mac  Donnell  spoke  strongly  on  the  subject  of  Irish 
Manufacture;  and  the  latter  suggested  that  the  preference  of  everything  Irish  to  English 
should  be  urged  on  those  parents  who  sent  their  sons  to  England  for  education, 

Counsellor  O'Connell  thought  that  would  be  doing  much ;  the 
sure  way  of  doing  business  was  to  do  a  little  at  a  time. 

He  did  condemn,  as  much  as  his  learned  friend,  the  absurd 
practice  of  sending  children  to  be  educated  in  England.  Since 
the  Union  he  knew,  out  of  fifteen  young  gentlemen  who  had  got 
an  English  education,  one  only  to  be  a  man  of  talent ;  seven 
broke  their  fortunes,  and  others  were  engaged  in  every  species  of 
dissipation  and  folly.  So  much  for  the  advantage  of  an  English 
'  education.  He  would  not  have  this  topic  form  part  of  the  re- 
solution, as  in  a  very  short  time  he  was  convinced  the  evil  must 
remedy  itself. 

There  was  another  branch  of  trade  that  deserved  the  notice 
ard  encouragement  of  the  Board — he  meant  the  cotton  trade. 
At  one  period  it  flourished,  and  it  was  now  as  much  depressed  as 
any  other  branch  of  trade.  The  English  sent  over  some  cords 
SJ«1  velveteens,  and  undersold  the  Irish  manufacturer ;  the  fact 
was,  that  though  the  Irish  goods  were  sold  at  a  higher  price,  it 


326  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

was  by  no  means  dearer  than  the  English.  It  was  found  at  the 
end,  to  be  more  lasting,  and  give  much  more  wear  than  the 
other,  yet  the  people  were  led  away  by  the  appearance  of  the 
English  article  and  the  smaller  price,  and  therefore  gave  it  the 
preference  ;  thus  this  branch  of  trade  was  completely  ruined. 

It  only  required  a  proper  spirit  amongst  the  people  to  put  an 
end  to  this  monopoly;  let  them  be  taught  What  was  of  real  ad- 
vantage to  their  country,  and  it  must  flourish.  It  was  the  finest 
country  under  heaven — indented  with  the  finest  harbours,  and 
inhabited  by  the  bravest  men  in  the  world — and  it  only  required 
the  cordial  co-operation  of  all  her  sons  to  make  it  the  happiest 
country  in  the  globe.  (Cheers.) 

He  concluded  by  reminding  the  Board,  tha^  the  day-notes 
would  inform  them  who  it  was  that  imported  goods  from  England. 

This  was  one  of  the  many  occasions  in  Mr.  O'Connell's  life,  when  he  laboured  in  the  good 
cause  of  the  deserving,  hard-working,  and  most  skilful  artizans  of  Ireland.  We  shall  have, 
unfortunately,  to  note  the  failure  U  several  such  efforts— as  all  such  must  fail,  till  the 
vitality  of  industry  be  restored  with  the  money  and  rich  consumers  of  the  country,  by  the 
repeal  of  the  emaciating  Act  of  Union 


LIEUTENANT  O'CONNELL. 

An  we  have  been  speaking  of  relatives  of  Mr.  O'Connell,  the  following  brief  notice  of  one 
towards  whom  he  cherished  a  strong  affection,  will  find  an  appropriate  place  liere,  from 
the  Dublin  Evening  Pott  of  Saturday,  September  25,  1818  :— 

-  The  successful  storming  of  St  Sebastian  (31st  August),  from  the  nature  of  the  obstacles 
opposed  by  a  scientific  enemy,  confessedly  ranks  first,  in  point  of  military  achievement  on 
the  part  of  the  allies.  Many  of  our  countrymen  distinguished  themselves  most  conspicu- 
ously upon  that  memorable  occasion.  The  relatives  of  the  fallen  heroes,  thongh  under  the 
influence  of  national  or  Spartan  pride,  must  notwithstanding  feel  heart-rending  grief,  '  not 
loud  but  deep,'  for  the  irreparable  loss  sustained  iu  their  domestic  society. 

"  In  no  instance,  perhaps,  will  this  adversity  be  more  poignantly  felt  than  in  the  family 
of  Lieutenant  John  O'Conneil,  of  the  43rd  Regiment,  a  near  relative  of  the  Counsellor  of 
that  name,  a  brave  and  promising  youth,  whose  talents  as  a  soldier  would  indubitably,  one 
day  or  other,  do  honour  to  his  country,  when  those  disabilities  under  which  the  greater 
part  of  his  Majesty's  Irish  subjects  labour  should  have  been  removed. 

"He  volunteered  on  the  forlorn  hope  at  the  ever-memorable  siege  of  Badajoz,  where  ha 
vas  severely  wounded ;  and  on  the  attack  on  St  Sebastian,  lie  sought  a  post  of  danger 
where  he  gloriously  fell  in  the  arms  of  victory. 

"The  meritorious  death  of  this  young  officer  leads  the  writer  of  this  to  taice  notice  of  a 
circumstance  well  worthy  of  remark  in  the  Irish  character — that  although  a  difference  of 
political  principles  at  home  may  prevail  for  a  time,  yet  when  their  country  demands"  their 
aid,  every  sentiment  is  abandoned  but  those  of  loyalty  and  union.  Party  Is  regarded  u 
subordinate,  or  as  the  '  reverie  of  an  idle  dream  ;'  all  prehulicft  is  abandoned,  and  nothing 
appears  but  a  desire  to  defend  the  king,  the  country,  and  the  constitution — thna  refuting 
the  base  calumnies  of  some  who  would  sar  that  a  difference  of  religious  opinions  const*- 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P,  327 

tutcn  a  difference  of  loyalty ;  and  who  would  cload  the  imagination  of  the  young  soldier 
with  mistaken  ideas,  tending  on)y  to  mislead  his  opinions,  and  throw  an  insuperable  bar- 
ker in  the  path  of  his  military  career." 

Mr.  0'Conne*ll1s  afl'ection  for  this  gallant  young  man,  which  had  been  manifested  in  more 
Ihuc  words — having  extended  to  the  equipping  and  furnishing  him  with  all  necessary  mat- 
ters, v/hen  joining  the  army — was  most  fervidly  and  devotedly  reciprocated  by  its  object. 

What  a  condition  was  that  of  the  Irish  Catholic  soldier  at  the  time  in  question !  He 
wight  fight ;  nay,  he  did  fight,  bleed,  die  for  England— in  England's  wars ;  and  the  chains 
of  his  fellow-Catholics,  and  of  his  country,  were  all  the  more  firmly  rivetted  by  his  sacri- 
fices 1 

During  the  progress  of  the  autumn,  Catholic  meetings  were  held  in  various  parts  of  Ire- 
land besides  those  already  noticed ;  and  resolutions  similar  in  substance  to  what  had  been 
passed  elsewhere,  were  universally  adopted. 

Mr.  O'Connell's  conduct,  therefore,  in  respect  of  the  Veto  question,  at  the  trial  of  Magee, 
and  all  other  occasions  that  he  had  come  before  the  public,  was  stamped  with  the  seal  oi 
general  approbation  and  concurrence. 

Late  in  October  he  returned  to  Dublin,  in  time  to  attend  the  second  meeting  of  the 
Catholic  Board,  after  its  re  assembling  for  the  winter  "  campaign. ' 

On  Saturday,  October  20, 1813,  Mr.  O'Connell  proposed  a  resolution  for  general  adoption 
by  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  declaring  against  the  introduction  of  any  measure  into  Parlia- 
ment, affecting  in  any  way  Catholic  discipline,  without  previous  examination  and  approval 
ef  it  by  the  Catholic  prelate*. 

His  object  was  to  endeavour  to  smoothen  the  way  to  the  mistaken  "  security" -men  to 
return  to  Catholic  agitation ;  and  so  to  effect  a  restoration  of  entire  harmony  in  the  Catho- 
lic body.  But  a  violent  opposition  baring  arisen  to  the  resolution,  on  the  ground  that  it 
Bight  be  interpreted  as  an  indirect  approval  of  some  form  of  "  securities,"  Mr.  O'Connell, 
though  unconvinced  of  its  having  any  such  tendency,  withdrew  it,  and  so  had  to  abandon 
tor  «  season  the  hope  of  restoring  unanimity  to  the  popular  councils. 


THE  KILKENNY  RESOLUTIONS. 

TRIAL  OF  JOHN  MAGEE. 

>r  the  19th  of  Novemoei,  the  unfortunate  John  Magee  was  brought  up  in  custody  to  plead 
I  the  King's  Bench  to  an  indictment  for  publishing  the  resolutions  of  the  Kilkenny  Catho 
Jcs,  in  which,  while  complimenting  him  and  his  counsel,  they  assailed  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond. 

The  Attorney-General  strongly  opposed  Mr.  O'Connell's  notion  to  the  court,  that  Mr. 
Magee,  who  had  entered  his  plea  of  "  not  guilty,"  should  be  allowed  to  "  traverse  in  prox," 
to  the  usual  way. 

Mr.  Justice  Day  ineffectually  suggested  to  the  Attorney-General  the  fitness  of  acceding, 
JT  for  no  other  reason  than  the  advanced  state  of  the  term,  and  pressure  of  business. 

Attorney-General  (Saurin) — My  lord,  I  certainly  will  not  consent.  If  counsel  ft>;  th« 
frarerser  can  show,  that  in  point  of  law  he  has  the  right,  I  shall  bow  with  submission  ;  but 
If  not,  I  consider  it  most  material,  aa  well  to  the  public  justice  of  this  country  as  to  the 
administration  of  the  law,  that  the  trial  be  proceeded  on  as  speedily  as  possible, 

MR.  O'CoNNBLL— It  is  clearly  the  right  of  the  subject,  in  cases 
of  misdemeanour,  to  traverse  in  prox ;  and  Mr.  Justice  Day  will 


328  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

I 

please  to  recollect  thut  at  the  last  summer  assizes  of  the  county 
of  Monaghan,  where  he  presided  as  judge,  several  persons  who 
had  been  indicted  for  a  riot  and  assault,  availed  themselves  of 
the  right  we  now  contend  for,  and  had  their  trials  postponed  till 
the  next  assizes. 

The  case  of  "  the  King  v.  M.  O'Connor,"  indicted  for  a  misde- 
meanour, before  the  Chief  Baron,  was  another  recent  instance 
svhere  the  practice  was  recognised  and  adopted. 

It  is  laid  down  in  the  4th  vol.  of  "  BJackstone's  Commen- 
taries," that  it  is  usual  to  try  all  felons  immediately,  or  soon  after 
their  arraignment ;  but  it  is  not  customary,  nor  agreeable  to  the 
general  course  of  proceedings — unless  by  consent,  or  where  the 
defendant  is  actually  in  gaol — to  try  persons  indicted  for  smaller 
misdemeanours  at  the  same  court  in  which  they  have  pleaded  not 
guilty,  or  traversed  the  indictment. 

Mr.  Justice  Blackstone  does  not  say  that  it  may  not  be  done 
— but  he  declares  that  it  was  not  customary  nor  agreeable  to  the 
course  of  legal  proceedings.  It  is  for  the  counsel  for  the  crown 
to  show  that  there  exists  a  legal  distinction  in  the  practice  be- 
tween the  term  and  the  assizes — both  being,  in  contemplation  of 
law,  considered  only  as  one  day. 

.,  Xr.  Perrtn,  in  support,  cited  the  "  great  Angle**  CMC,"  in  which  one  of  the  wltncMee 
having  been  indicted  for  perjury,  Baron  Mountenay  held  that  though  justice  required  ar 
immediate  trial,  yet  the  traverser,  being  indicted  for  a  misdemeanour,  hud  a  right  to  post 
pouo 

l.'.r.  O'Connell— It  would  be  impossible  foi  his  client  to  be  prepared.  Mr.  Townshend 
Lad  said  the  Court  might  issue  its  precipe,  and  order  a  jury  to  be  returned  in  five  minutes- 

Mr.  Townshend  begged  the  learned  gentleman's  pardon—  he  said  no  ruch  tiling.  What  he 
had  said  was,  that  the  Court  might  issue  its  preoipe,  and  direct  a  jury  to  "  be  returned 
inslanter ."' 

Mr.  O'Connell  would  not  argue  the  point  of  distinction  between  the  great  space  of  time 
ot  itutanier  and /fee  minutes;  but  he  would  contend  that  the  crime  of  wilful  and  corrupt 
perjury  was  more  atrocious  than  that  of  a  supposed  libel  for  publishing  resolutions,  which 
he  presumed  the  traverser'had  never  seen  until  they  were  in  print. 

Mr.  Justice  Day  and  Mr.  Justice  Osborne  considered  that  the  practice  applied  only  te 
assizes  or  quarter  sessions  ;  and  the  Attorney -General  then  piessed  that  Wednesday,  the 
24th  of  the  month,  should  be  fixed. 

Mr.  C'Connell— There  are  no  less  than  eleven  counts  contained  in  the  indictment— eleven 
dittinct  offences  charged  in  it.  The  transaction  arising  in  Kilkenny,  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  town,  it  will  be  quite  impossible  for  Mr.  Magee  to  be  prepared  on  so  short  & 
notice. 

Remonstrance,  however,  waa  useless — the  Attorney- General  persisting  in  his  appoint- 
ment. 

Mr.  Aingee's  appearance  the  day  on  which  the  foregoing  proceedings  took  place,  TTSS 
much  remarked  upon.  His  confinement  had  evidently  impaired  his  he%lth ;  and  ml<;h* 
have  induced  some  feeling  of  mercy  in  the  breast  even  of  an  ordinarily  h»n!-hetirted  man. 
But  they  were  tigers  that  managed  Irish  affairs  then,  and  nothing  hut  hunting  their  ri* 
tJra*  dowu  to  the  death  could  allay  their  savage  appetite*. 


BANIBL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  329 

\V«  postpone  Catholic  meetings,  proceedings,  Ac.,  to  follow  out  the  history  of  the  hunt. 
•*)n  Wednesday,  the  24th  November,  the  traverser  was  duly  brought  up  again,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  his  trial  for  the  alleged  libel  on  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  in  the  Kilkenny 

resolutions  of  the  4th  of  August ;  ami  also 

"  To  hear  the  judgment  of  the  Court  on  the  motion  made  to  set  aside  the  verJict  5n  lu» 
former  prosecution  '" 

The  latter  scent  was  first  harked  upon ;  and  the  leading  blood-hound,  the  Chief  Justice-, 
Jplivered,  at  considerable  length,  the  opinion  of  the  Court — that  the  rerdict  ought  to 
stand ;  and  ordered  the  traverser  (who  had  been  in  Kilmainham  since  the  preceding  term) 
lo  be  brought  up  on  the  next  Saturday,  to  receive  sentence. 

A  conversation  then  occurred  as  to  affidavits  in  mitigation,  on  the  one  side,  and  aty* 
vation  on  the  other,  of  the  impending  sentence ;  and  the  Attorney-General, 
"  Still  cheering  on  the  prey,'- 

kirongly  urged  that  the  very  next  day  should  be  fixed  for  bringing  his  victim  up. 

Some  glimmerings  of  humanity,  or  more  likely  of  shame,  awoke  in  the  Chief  Justice's 
breast,  at  the  earnest  appeal  of  Mr.  O'Connell,  against  the  unfairness  of  not  allowing  uorno 
little  time  to  the  prisoner  to  answer  the  affidavit  of  the  prosecution;  and  the  great  indul- 
gence was  conceded  of  two  days  for  that  purpose. 

Mr.  O'Connell  then  addressed  himself  to  the  argument  respecting  the  traverser's  r?etit  to 
traverse  in  prox  in  the  matter  of  the  indictment  for  the  Kilkenny  resolutions. 

The  court  of  King's  Bench,  he  said,  had,  from  the  earliest 
period  recognised  the  practice  as  the  right  of  the  subject — a  right 
never  violated  but  once,  during  the  reign  of  James  II.  ;  and  re- 
stored again  early  in  the  reign  of  his  successor,  Wil'iain  III. 
The  instance  he  alluded  to  was  the  celebrated  case  of  the  seven 
bishops. 

The  Chief  Justice  interposed,  that  if  the  Court  had  decided  the  question  t  \e  previoiw 
day,  it  ought  not  now  to  be  re-opened. 

Mr.  Justice  Osborne  set  him  right  as  to  the  fact  of  its  not  having  been  decided  and  said 
the  counsel  had  then  teemed  unprepared,  and  that  the  motion  was  fully  open  t«-  further 
discussion. 

Mr.  O'Connell  in  continuation : — 

In  Chief  Baron  Gilbert's  "  History  of  the  Common  P'eas," 
chap.  4,  p.  143,  your  lorcfships  will  find  it  thus  laid  down. 

This  was  plainly  the  ancient  practice  ;  because  there  was  no 
continuance  from  the  appearance  day  to  the  time  of  declarirg, 
there  being  no  precedent  of  iibertas  narrandi;  therefore  the 
declaration  must  be  of  the  same  term.  But  in  the  King's  Bench, 
when  a  defendant  comes  in  on  a  criminal  process,  which  i&  "sup- 
posed to  issue  on  a  complaint  to,  and  by  examination  of,  tto 
Chief  Justice,  the  defendant  is  not  discharged  till  the  second 
terra  after  his  appearance ;  for  in  the  first  term,  all  parties  con* 
uerned  might  possibly  not  have  noHce. 

When  a  man  comes  in  on  criminal  process,  he  had  liberty  tO 
traverse  in  prox  (it  is  strange  said  Mr.  O'Couuell,  here  pausing 
in  his  re,'.diu^ — it  i*  strange  how  L..rd  Chief  tt,iro»i  Gilbert  oould 

r 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

have  used  this  phrase,  which  the  Attorney-General  lately  stig- 
^inatised  as  so  vulgar!)  on  all  bailable  offences,  because  he 
might  not  be  prepared  for  trial  with  his  witnesses;  but  it 
was  otherwise  in  capital  cases,  because  there  was  oath  of  the 
crime,  <fec.,  &c. 

He  (Mr.  O'Connell)  admitted  that  the  case  of  the  seven  bishops 
was  contrary  to  these  principles;  but  even  then  one  of  the 
judges,  Mr.  Justice  Powel,  differed  with  the  rest  of  the  court 
and  preserved  his  integrity  during  that  infamous  and  de- 
praved reign,  when  every  case  between  the  king  and  the  subject 
was  decided  by  the  other  three  judges  against  the  liberty  of  the 
subject. 

There  was  another  case,  in  2nd  Salkeld,  page  515,  to  which 
he  would  call  their  lordships*  attention : — "  King's  Bench,  Michael- 
mas Term,  1st  of  William  and  Mary. — If  a  man  be  bound  by 
recognizance  to  appear  on  the  first  day  of  term,  and  is  charged 
on  his  appearance  with  an  information,  in  case  the  information 
be  laid  in  Middlesex,  the  party  has  time  to  plead  during  all 
that  term,  so  that  it  cannot  come  to  trial  in  the  term ;  but  in 
case  it  be  laid  in  any  other  county,  the  party  shall  have  time  to 
Dlead  till  the  next  term ;  for  he  is  as  much  concerned  to  defend 
himself  in  those  cases  as  in  any  civil  action  ;  and  since  the  law 
allows  him  counsel,  the  law  likewise  allows  him  time  to  consult 
with  them  :  for  not  to  allow  the  means  of  defence,  is  to  take  away 
the  subject's  defence.  Otherwise  it  is  in  capital  cases ;  but  note 
— in  these  cases  there  are  no  counsel,  <fec.,  <fec.  (Decided  per 
uiriam,  contrary  to  the  case  :>f  the  seven  bishops.) 

Mr.  O'Connell  then  cited  the  37th  Geo.  III.  c.  30,  to  the  same  point;  aud  concluded  by 
observing  that  both  the  common  and  the  statute  law  "  had  recognized  the  right  of  the 
•abject,  in  vulgar  epithett— according  to  the  Attorney-general— to  trawte  inprox." 

The  Attorney-General  replied,  citing  cases  in  support  of  his  position. 

He  failed,  however,  even  with  that  court ;  and  the  trial  was  ordered  to  stand  over  to 
Monday,  the  31st  day  of  January,  1814. 

But  the  victim  was  not  to  escape.  The  other  matter  came  on  at  the  appointed  tone- 
The  following  is  a  brief  account  :— 

The  Attorney-General  commenced  with  referring  in  strong  terms  to  the  whole  coarse  ol 
the  defence  of  Mr.  Magee,  since  the  beginning  of  the  prosecutions — or  rather  pet  secutintu 
—most  particularly  Mr.  O'Connell's  speeches  in  defence,  which  he  characterised  in  the 
»ost  violent  terms.  He  urged  in  aggravation  of  sentence  Mr.  Magee's  publication  of  the 
npeech  in  question,  and  declaration  of  approval  of  it 

The  Attorney  General  did  his  utmost  also  to  enlist  the  personal  feelings  of  the  ChleJ 
Justice,  by  drawing  his  attention  to  Mi.  O'Conncll's  scarcely-indirect  charges  against  hirr 
TO  the  occasion  mentioned.  The  following  was  Mr.  O'CcnnelTs  reply ;— 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  331 

COURT   OF   KING'S   BENCH. 

SATURDAY,  27TH  Nov.,  1813. 

The  Attorney-General 's  Motion  in  Aggravation  of  Sentence  on 
Mr.  Magee,  for  Publishing  a  Report  of  the  Trial  of  THE  KINO 
at  the  Prosecution  of  His  GRACE  THE  DUKE  OP  RICHMOND 
against  JOHN  MAGEE,  Proprietor  of  the  "  Dublin  Evening 
Post" 

Mr.  O'CONNELL. — I  am  sure,  my  lords,  that  every  gentleman 
present  will  sympathise  in  the  emotions  I  now  experience, 
am  sure  no  gentleman  can  avoid  feeling  the  deepest  interest  in  a 
situation  in  which  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  check  the  strongest 
resentment,  but  quite  impossible  to  give  that  resentment  utter- 
ance in  the  severity  of  language  suited  to  its  cause  and  proro 
cation.  Yet,  even  here,  do  1  yield  in  nothing  to  the  Attoruey- 
General.  I  deny,  in  the  strongest  terms,  his  unfounded  and  ab- 
surd claim  to  superiority.  I  am  his  equal,  at  least,  in  birth— 
his  equal  in  fortune — his  equal,  certainly,  in  education ;  and  a* 
to  talent,  I  should  not  add  that,  but  there  is  little  vanity  in 
claiming  equality.  And  thus  meeting  him  on  the  firm  footing 
of  undoubted  equality.  I  do  rejoice,  my  lords — I  do  most  sin- 
cerely rejoice — that  the  Attorney-General  has  prudently  treasured 
up  his  resentment  since  July  last,  and  ventured  to  address  me 
in  this  court  in  the  unhandsome  language  he  has  used  ;  because 
my  profound  respect  for  this  temple  of  the  law  enables  me  her 
to  overcome  the  infirmity  of  my  nature,  and  to  listen  with 
oatience  to  an  attack  which,  had  it  been  made  elsewhere,  would 
have  met  merited  CHASTISEMENT. 

Justice  Daly— Eh !    What  Is  that  you -<ay? 

Justice  Osborne,  with  much  apparent  emotion— I  at  once  declare,  I  will  not  sit  here  tc 
listen  to  such  a  speech  as  I  have  seen  reported.  Take  care  of  what  you  say,  sir. 

Mr.  O'Connell— My  lord,  what  I  say  Is,  that  I  am  delighted  at  the  prudence  of  the 
Attorney-General,  in  having  made  that  foul  assault  upon  me  here,  and  not  elsewhere,  be- 
cause my  profound  respect  for  the  bench  overcomes  now  those  feelings  which,  elsewhere, 
vronld  lead  me  to  do  what  I  should  regret— to  break  the  peace  in  chastising  him. 

Justice  Daly — Chastising!  The  Attorney-General !  If  a  criminal  information  were  ap 
plied  for  on  that  word,  we  should  be  bound  to  grant  it. 

Mr.  O'Connell — I  meant,  my  lords,  that  elsewhere  thus  assailed,  I  should  be  carried  away 
by  my  feeline?  to  do  that  which  I  should  regret— to  go  beyond  the  law — to  inflict  corpora, 
punishment  for  that  offence,  which  I  am  here  ready,  out  of  consideration  for  the  Court,  tc 
pardon. 

Justice. Osborne- 1  will  take  the  opinion  of  the  Court  whether  you  shall  cot  be  com 
flitted. 

Chief  Justice— If  you  pursue  that  line  of  langtisgo,  we  must  call  upon  «o1ne  other  of  the 
•xmnsel  at  the  same  side  to  proceed. 

Justice  Day— Now,  Mr.  O'Connell.  do  not  yon  p^iccfve  that,  '.vhile  you  t»'k  of  suppressing 
tho-efeelinen.  ™Q  arc  actually  IniV.ilglng  '.'v+rnl  jme  Attorney -General  could  not 


iELECT    SPEECHES    OF 


you  offence  in  the  line  of  argument  he  pursued  to  ennancc  the  punishment,  In  every  wf; 
of  your  client    It  is  unnecessary  for  you  to  throw  off,  or  to  repel,  aspersio 

m  Mr.  °oncyo™ell-My  lord,  I  thank  YO0-I  sincerely  thank  you-  It  relieves  my  mind  from 
»  load  of  imputation  when  I  hear  such  high  authority  as  that  of  your  lordslnp  kindly  de- 
claring that  it  did  not  ai-ply  to  me.  And  yet,  my  lord,  what  did  ^e  Att<;rney-Genera 
mean  when  he  called  a  question  a  senseless  and  shameless  question  ?  What  did  he  mean 
when  he-he,  my  lord-talked  of  low  and  vulgarmind?  ^"^V*?**: 
prf  '  jd  to  the  advocate  participation  in  the  crime  of  the  client  ?  This  he  distinctly  charged 
metdth.  All  I  require  from  the  Court  is  the  same  liberty  to  reply  with  ^rnlch  the  At- 
toniey-General  has  been  indulged  in  attack.  All  I  ask  is,  to  be  suffered  to  answer  and  nv 
pel  the  calumnies  with  which  I  have  been  assailed. 

Justice  Daly-You  shall  have  the  same  liberty  that  he  had;  out  the  Court  did  not 
derstand  him  to  have  made  any  personal  attack  upon  you. 

Justice  Osborne-We  did  not  understand  that  the  Attorney  -General  meant  you,  wt 
he  talked  of  a  participator  in  the  crime  of  your  client. 

Attorney-General-I  did  not,  my  lords     I  certainly  did  not  mean  the  gentleman.    To 
,tute  that  I  did  would  be  to  misrepiesent  my  meaning,  which  had  nothing  to  do  wit* 

Mr.  O'Connell—  Well,  my  lords,  be  it  so  ;  I  rejoice,  however, 
that  this  charge  is  thus  publicly  disavowed,  and  disavowed  in 
the  presence  of  those  who  heard  his  words  originally,  and  who 
have  heard  me  repel  any  attack  made  upon  me.  I  rejoice  to 
find  that  your  lordships  have  interposed  your  opinion  that  no 
personal  attack  has  been  made  upon  me,  and  thus  have  rendered 
unnecessary  any  further  comment  on  what  had  flowed  from  the 
Attorney-General.  I  am,  therefore,  enabled  at  once  to  go  into 
the  discussion  of  the  merits  of  my  client's  case. 

And  now  let  me  first  solemnly  and  seriously  protest  against 
the  manner  in  which  the  Attorney-  General  seeks  to  aggravate 
the  punishment.  It  is  by  introducing  into  the  affidavit  of  the 
attorney  for  the  prosecution,  passages  from  the  speech  of  counse 
*at  the  trial.  These,  perhaps,  are  times  in  which  it  may  be  de- 
gired  by  him,  as  it  certainly  is  safe  for  him,  to  make  bad  pre- 
cedents. But  against  this  precedent  I  enter  my  earnest,  my 
lonest,  my  independent  protest.  My  protest  may,  for  the  pre- 
eent,  be  disregarded;  but  it  will  accompany  the  precedent  m 
future  times,  and  if  not  destroy,  perhaps  mitigate,  its  evil  effects. 
I  therefore  do  protest  against  it,  on  behalf  of  the  bar,  and  on 
behalf  of  the  public. 

What  !  is  the  Bar  of  Ireland  to  be  thus  degraded,  that  itsnalJ 
be  permitted  to  the  inferior  branches  of  the  profession,  to  every 
attorney  in  the  hall,  to  drag  into  affidavits  the  names  of  counsel, 
nnd  their  discourses  for  their  clients)  If  it  be  permitted  against 
a  defendant  in  a  criminal  case,  it  must  be  equally,  or  rather  more 
literally,  allowed  to  civil  suits.  There  will,  in  future,  be  no  mo- 
tion for  a  new  trial  without  inj.ro<*  ucmtr  thn  imnr^  of  exmtHMI* 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.K  333 

and  his  exertions  for  his  client,  and  perhaps  his  politics — per- 
chance his  religion!  We  shall  be  subject  to  a  commentary  upon 
the  Oath  of  Attorneys.  The  debate  on  motions  will  not  be  whal 
the  pleadings  state,  or  what  the  witnesses  swore,  or  what  law  was 
]fiid  down  by  the  judge  ;  but  the  discussion  will  turn  upon  the 
speech  of  the  counsel,  what  it  was  he  said,  what  he  thought.  A 
meaning  will  be  affixed,  by  an  attorney's  swearing,  upon  every 
sentence  of  the  counsel,  and  he  shall  not  dare  to  describe  crime 
or  to  portray  criminality,  lest  the  general  description  of  offence 
may  be  transmuted  by  the  oath  of  an  attorney  into  particular 
and  powerful  individuals ;  and  whilst  he  ought  to  have  his  mind 
at  complete  liberty  to  look  for  all  the  topics  to  serve  the  cauae 
of  his  clients,  and  to  confute  the  arguments  of  his  adversary,  he 
will  in  future  be  fettered  and  encumbered  by  the  dread  of  ex- 
posing himself  to  the  imputations  of  the  adverse  attorney,  ond  ike 
compliments  of  the  bench.  I  do  not  think  any  gentleman  oughi 
to  condescend  to  advocate  a  cause  under  such  circumstances,  or 
that  he  could  continue  high-minded  and  worthy  of  his  rank  in 
society,  if  he  were  to  submit  to  such  degradation. 

Against  this  practice  now,  for  t&e  first  time,  attempted  to  be 
introduced — against  the  first  but  mighty  stride  to  lessen  the 
dignity  of  an  honourable  profession,  I  proclaim  my  distinct,  une- 
quivocal, arid  solemn  dissent.  But  the  privileges  of  the  bar, 
howover  interesting  to  a  numerous  and  respectable  class  of  men, 
sink  into  insignificance  when  contrasted  with  the  rights  of  the 
public.  The  public  have  a  right  to  the  free,  unbiassed,  and  un- 
intimidated  exertions  of  the  profession.  If  the  bar  be  controlled 
— if  the  bar  be  subjugated — if  the  profane  hand  of  the  Attorney- 
General  may  drag  the  barrister  from  the  high  station  of  respon- 
sibility in  which  he  is  at  present  placed,  and  call  for  censure  on 
the  client  for  the  conduct  of  the  barrister,  then  indeed  will  it  be 
quite  safe  for  power  to  oppress  and  to  plunder  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land;  in  vain  shall  the  subject  look  for  a  manly  advocate, 
if  he  is  to  be  exposed  to  the  insolent  mockery  of  a  trial  of  him- 
self in  the  shape  of  an  attack  upon  his  client.  How  are  the 
powerful  to  be  resisted?  How  are  the  great  to  be  opposed  when 
they  menace  injustice  ?  Certainly  not  by  the  advocate  who 
fears  that  whilst  he  endeavours  to  serve  his  client  he  shall  injure 
himself ;  certainly  not  by  the  barrister  who  has  reason  to  appre- 
hend that  his  language,  being  distorted  in  an  attorney's  affi- 
davit, will  expose  him  to  censure  from  those  to  whom  he  cannot 
reply. 

It  ib  the  first  interest  of  the  public  that  the  bar  shall  be  left 


334:  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

free.  No  inconvenience  can  result  from  this  freedom,  because 
it  is  always  subject  to  the  discretion  of  the  judge  who  presided 
nt  the  trial.  He  has  it  in  his  power  to  stop  any  proceeding  in- 
consistent with  propriety  •  b^J  if  ue  does  not  interfere  at  the 
trial  when  tlio  advocate  could  defend  himself  and  assert  his 
ngntj  wnat  authority  has  ^een  found  to  warrant  an  appeal  to  a 
future  court,  m  uruor  to  punish  that  which  ought  not  to  have 
been  prevented  ?  In  short,  the  public  are  deeply  interested  in 
our  independence ;  their  properties,  their  lives,  their  honours, 
are  entrusted  to  us;  and  if  we,  in  whom  such  a  guardianship  is 
confided,  be  degraded,  how  can  we  afford  protection  to  others " 
Lessened  in  our  own  esteem,  habituated  to  insult,  we  shall  dwin- 
dle in  talent  as  in  character ;  and,  if  the  talent  may  remain,  it 
will  be  simply  useless  to  the  oppressed,  greatly  serviceable  to 
the  oppressor.  For  the  public,  therefore,  who  may  easily  be  en- 
slaved, if  the  bar  be  debased,  I  again  enter  my  solemn  protest 
against  this  bad  precedent. 

For  myself,  I  have  scarce  a  word  to  say  ;  talents  I  do  not 
possess,  but  I  never  will  yield  the  freedom  of  thought  and  of 
language  —I  never  will  barter  or  abandon  the  independence  of 
the  profession.  It  may  injure  me  ;  I  know  it  will  injure  me, 
and  I  care  not ;  but  as  long  as  I  belong  to  the  Irish  bar,  I  will 
be  found  open,  decided,  manly,  independent.  Unawed  by  the 
threats  or  frowns  of  power,  holding  in  sovereign  contempt  the  vile 
solicitations  of  venality,  and  determined  to  do  my  duty  in  de- 
spite of  every  risk,  personal  and  public — the  enemy  of  every  op- 
"»ression  and  fraud — the  unalterable  friend  to  freedom.  I  have 
a  fault — I  know  it  well — in  the  eyes  of  the  Attorney-General. 
The  spirit  that  invented  the  inquisition  exists  in  human  nature  ; 
that  there  was  an  inquisition  proves  the  existence  in  nature  of 
an  inquisitorial  spirit.  Nature  is  not  calumniated  when  she"  is 
charged  with  all  the  atrocity  of  bigotry  in  design  and  action  ; 
and  towards  rne  that  design  has  an  object  that  is  easily  under- 
stood. To  check  the  Popish  advocate  may,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Attorney-General,  be  a  work  equally  pious  and  prudent ;  but 
the  proudest  feelings  of  contempt  may  defeat  his  intention  and 
place  me  above  the  reach  of  malevolence. 

From  myself  and  from  this  strange  precedent,  I  come  to  the 
case  of  my  client.  It  is  my  duty  to  show  your  lordship  thai 
the  matters  stated  for  aggravation  ought  not  to  affect  my  client; 
It  would  be  unjust — it  would  be  cruel — it  would  be  atrocious ti 
punish  him  by  reason  of  the  controversy  into  which  I  have  been 
driven  ;  that,  I  am  sure,  tb*  court  ought  not,  nn  ]  therefore  wiL" 


DANIEL  O'COSNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  335 

not  do.  Neither  can  you  punish  him  for  publishing  his  trial. 
li;  is  admitted  that  his  report  is  a  true  report  of  the  trial ;  the 
truth  of  the  report  is  not  even  controverted  \  and  having  this 
fact  admitted,  that  he  has  given  a  true  report,  the  law  is  clear  j 
it  is  clear  no  indictment  or  information,  nor  any  criminal  pro- 
cess can  be  maintained  against  a  person  who  publishes  a  true 
report  of  our  proceedings  in  our  courts,  nor  does  any  civil  action 
Jie  for  such  report. 

It  is  laid  down  in  2  Hawk.  354,  that  nothing  is  a  libel,  or  can 
become  the  subject  matter  of  a  criminal  prosecution  as  suchs 
which  occurs  in  the  course  of  proceeding  in  a  court  of  justice  \ 
and  the  case  of  Astley  v.  Young  in  2  Burr,  has  settled  that  no 
civil  action  will  lie  for  anything  that  so  occurs ;  there  is  but  one 
case  in  the  books  where  a  contrary  doctrine  was  held,  and  that 
case  is  just  one  of  those  bad  precedents  which,  though  trium- 
phantly established  at  the  time,  are  soon  rendered  obsolete  and 
unavailing  by  the  abhorrence  of  every  rational  man.  It  is  the 
case  of  the  King  v.  Williams  in  2  Show.  It  was  an  indictment 
against  Sir  William  Williams,  for  having  published,  by  order  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  "  Danyerfield's  Narrative  of  the  Meal- 
Tub  Plot."  Such  was  the  horror  which  the  wise  people  of  Eng- 
land entertained  of  the  Pope  in  his  proper  person  ;  or  at  least 
some  conspiracy  to  re-establish  his  authority  had  been  discovered 
close  concealed  in  a  meal-tub,  and  the  House  of  Commons  catch 
ing  and  propagating  the  delusion,  ordered  the  narrative  of  this 
terrific  plot  to  be  printed  and  circulated  throughout  the  country. 
It  was  for  this  publication  that  Sir  William  Williams,  the  speaker 
of  the  Commons,  was  indicted  in  the  first  year  of  King  James. 
If  your  lordships  take  the  trouble  of  looking  into  the  report,  you 
will  find  that  the  counsel  for  the  defendant,  Mr.  Pollexfen,  a  man 
who  deserves  the  admiration  of  posterity,  for  he,  at  that  despotic 
period,  had  the  courage  to  attempt  to  stem  the  torrent  of  unre- 
lenting persecution  at  the  bar,  and  overbearing  and  iniquitous 
intolerance  of  the  bench  ;  he,  the  counsel  for  the  defendant,  was 
interrupted  by  the  bench,  and  not  suffered  to  defend  his  client 
as  his  case  merited  to  be  defended. 

I  admit  that  the  case  of  Sir  William  Williams  determined  that 
the  high  court  of  parliament  itself  had  no  right  to  sanction  the 
publication  of  any  part  of  its  proceedings  which  contained  matter 
ID  itself  libellous.  But  fortunately  the  authority  of  that  case 
...'is  been  completely  exploded,  even  by  the  modern  Court  of 
King's  Bench  in  the  time  of  Lord  Kenyon,  in  the  case  of  The 
v.  T.  Wrigfit,  in  8  Tpvm  Reports,  293:  it  was  a  favourable 


336  BBLECT  SPEECHES  OF 

.utrcumstance ;  that  was  an  application  on  behalf  of  the  late  Mr. 
Home  Tooke.  Mr.  Tooke,  in  1794,  had  been  acquitted  of  high 
treason,  and  yet,  in  1799,  the  House  of  Commons  adopted  the 
report  of  a  committee,  and  ordered  it  to  be  printed,  stating  in 
substance,  that  although  Mr.  Tooke  had  been  acquitted,  yet  that 
the  evidence  adduced  at  his  trial  showed  him  to  be  guilty.  The 
order  of  the  house,  however,  was,  that  the  report  should  be 
printed  for  the  use  of  the  members.  Wright,  the  defendant, 
printed  it  for  public  circulation,  and  he  therefore  had  no  protec- 
tion from  the  order  of  the  house  but  the  general  protection  which 
every  man  has,  to  publish  the  written  documents  laid  before  that 
house.  For  this  publication,  grossly  reflecting  on  Mr.  Tooke, 
»nd  accusing  him  of  a  crime,  of  which  a  jury  of  his  country  ac- 
quitted him,  he  applied  to  the  King's  Bench  for  a  criminal  in- 
formation, relying  on  the  case  of  The  King  v.  Williams,  as  only 
not  in  point,  because  much  stronger.  The  court  refused  the  in- 
formation, and  declared  the  case  of  The  King  and  Williams  noi 
to  bt  law.  Judge  Grose,  upon  that  occasion,  said  these  words : — 
"  Ttke  case  of  Williams  occurred  in  the  worst  of  times,  and  is  a 
disgrace  to  a  court  of  justice  ;"  and  Judge  Laurence  declared, 
'"that  no  information  could  be  granted  for  publishing  a  true 
iBtatement  of  the  proceedings  in  a  court  of  justice,  although  it 
may  in  itself  contain  a  libel — and  no  matter  of  law,  for,"  said  he, 
"  it  if  of  vast  importance  to  the  public  that  the  proceedings  of  a 
court  of  justice  should  be  universally  known.  The  general  ad- 
vantage to  the  country  in  having  those  proceedings  made  public 
more  than  counterbalances*  the  inconvenience  to  individuals." 
Such  is  the  law — such  is  the  doctrine  laid  down  by  a  court  which 
could  not  be  reproached  with  any  overweening  propensity  to 
popular  rights  or  popular  opinions. 

Nor  is  this  case  shook,  or  its  authority  weakened  by  the  «ase 
before  Lord  Ellenborough,  reported  in  7th  East,  493,  under  the 
fictitious  names  of  Nokes  v.  Styles  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  principle 
is  distinctly  recognised  and  admitted,  and  that  case  was  de- 
cided as  an  exception,  by  being  beyond  the  principle,  and  not  a 
true  report  of  judicial  proceedings.  I  do,  therefore,  lay  it  down 
as  clear  law,  that  no  indictment  or  informatics,  or  action  could 
be  sustained  for  publishing  this  report  of  the  trial ;  which  re- 
port the  Attorney-General  seeks  to  convert  into  an  aggravation 
3f  punishment,  that  is,  of  course,  an  increase  of  punishment — 
that  is,  a  double  punishment :  punishment  for  the  original  libel, 
for  which  tne  defendant  has  been  found  guilty,  and  punishment 
for  this  report,  of  which  not  only  hns  the  defendant  not  been 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  337 

Found  guilty,  but  for  which  he  could  not  legally  oe  put  on  any  trial. 
,It  is  no  offence,  in  point  of  law,  yet  the  defendant  is  to  be 
•punished,  in  point  of  fact,  for  it.  In  point  of  law,  the  Attorney- 
•General  could  not  prosecute  him  for  this  publication.  If  he  in- 
dicted him,  I  would  demur  to  the  indictment ;  and  still  for  this 
;report,  upon  which  he  could  obtain  no  conviction  or  judgment, 
does  he  call  on  the  court  to  inflict  a  sentence  !  No  jury  could 
convict  the  defendant  of  this  publication;  but  the  Attorney- 
General  requires  a  vote  of  the  court  to  be  substituted  for  the 
verdict  of  a  jury,  and  sentence  to  be  pronounced  upon  that 
vote,  when  no  verdict  could  sustain  a  judgment.  It  is  ab- 
.horrent  to  law,  and  detestable  to  common  sense,  that  a  man 
should  suffer  twice  for  one  crime  ;  but  this  is  a  case  in  which  it 
is  sought  that  Mr.  Magee  should  suffer  twice — once  for  what  is 
in  law  a  crime,  and  once,  for  what  is  not  a  crime  in  law  or  in  fact 
— that  is,  he  is  to  be  punished  in  the  second  instance,  although 
the  law  admits  his  innocence.  It  is  not  that  detestable  thing, 
double  punishment  for  one  offence — it  is  this  greater  atrocity 
that  is  sought  for  by  the  Attorney- General,  a  punishment  for  no 
offence.  This  court  is  bound,  by  every  principle  and  every  feel- 
ing, to  resist  ^he  solicitation  of  the  Attorney- General,  and  not  to 
punish  a  man  for  that  which  the  law  has  sanctioned. 

But  suppose  I  am  wrong,  and  that  this  report  is,  in  itself,  a 
libel ;  then  let  the  Attorney-General  indict  for  it;  and  if  he  can 
convict,  let  him  call  for  sentence.  If  it  be  indictable,  the  con- 
sequence may  be,  first,  that  he  procures  an  increase  of  punish- 
ment for  it  in  this  instance  ;  and  secondly,  that  he  afterwards, 
upon  an  indictment,  procures  a  sentence  for  the  same  publica- 
tion \  Out  of  this  dilemma  the  court  cannot  be  relioved.  If 
this  be  no  offence,  you  have  no  right  to  punish  for  it ;  if  it  be 
an  offence,  you  ought  not  to  leave  it  in  the  power  of  the  Attor- 
ney-General to  punish  twice  for  it. 

It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  to  follow  the  Attorney-Genera^ 
through  the  matter  which  the  affidavit  of  the  attorney  for  the 
prosecution  contains ;  and  I  do  it  slightly,  and  merely  to  show 
how  little  my  client  has  to  answer  for  with  regard  to  those. 
The  affidavit  sets  out  three  passages  from  my  speech  in  the  de- 
fence of  Mr.  Magee  :  the  first  relates  to  the  Attorney- Genera] 
directly  and  by  name  ;  the  second  consists  of  a  passage  addressed 
to  the  jury,  upon  their  impartiality  ;  and  the  third,  the  attorney 
who  made  the  affidavit  swears  he  believes  alluded  to  one  of  your 
lordships.  It-  is  said  that  Mr.  Magee  ought  to  have  made  an  am- 


338  SELECT  SPEECHES  O? 

davit  to  contradict  that  of  the  prosecutor's  attorney  ;  how  could 
*he  contradict  that  affidavit  ?  The  attorney  swears  he  believes 
the  passage  has  a  certain  meaning ;  and  how  could  any  person 
swear  that  the  attorney  does  not  so  believe  ?  If  he  had  given 
us  the  reasons  of  his  belief,  he  might  be  possibly  contradi^ced  in 
fact,  or  confuted  in  reasoning.  But  look  unto  the  passage,  and 
you  will  find  that  it  expressly  states  an  imaginary  case  ;  and 
wretched  indeed  must  be  the  state  of  the  bar  and  the  client,  if 
the  paintings  of  the  imagination  of  counsel  are  to  be  reduced  in 
shape  and  form,  and  embodied  into  an  array  against  the  client. 
I  disdain  being  a  party  to  any  such  degradation  ;  I  should  feel 
disgraced  if  I  were  to  offer  an  explanation  upon  this  topic.  Then 
with  respect  to  the  passage  relative  to  the  jury :  it  was  my  duty, 
and  my  client's  interest,  to  speak  to  them  candidly  ;  and  the 
passage  in  question  does  not  hinge  more  than  merely  to  state 
what  would  be  the  conduct  of  an  impartial  and  unbiassed  jury 
upon  such  an  occasion,  and  to  contrast  that  conduct  with  what 
we  had  to  apprehend  from  a  jury  of  a  different  complexion.  I 
will  not,  indeed,  condescend  to  vindicate  the  passage.  The  man- 
ner of  procuring  the  attention  of  a  jury  to  the  defence  of  the 
client,  is  the  privilege  as  well  as  the  duty  of  the  counsel,  and 
the  client  was  never  yet  made  responsible  for  the  mode  in  which 
counsel  effectuates  that  purpose.  The  remaining  passages  relate 
to  what  was  said  of  the  Attorney-General  himself.  He  has  read 
for  you  that  part  in.which,  as  counsel  for  Mr.  Magee,  I  proclaimed 
(after  an  apology  for  the  coarseness  of  the  expression),  any  man 
who  charged  the  Catholic  people  of  Ireland  with  treasonable  or 
revolutionary  sentiments,  to  be  a  liar.  You  will,  upon  reading 
the  entire  of  the  passage,  find  that  it  is  a  reply  to  what  fell  from 
the  Attorney-General — it  is  a  mere  answer  to  his  speech.  He 
ndulged  in  extraneous  topics,  and,  as  counsel  for  the  defendant 
I  felt  it  my  duty  to  follow  him. 

Justice  Day— You  have  no  affidavit  for  the  defendant  stating  that  the  Attorney-General 
went  into  extraneous  topics. 

MR.  O'CoNNBLL — We  have  not,  my  lord  ;  nor  is  it  necessary 
we  should  :  for  those  passages  purport  of  themselves  to  be  a  re- 
ply to  such  extraneous  topics — to  be  a  reply  to  the  Attorney- 
General  using  those  topics.  If  those  passages  are  to  be  resorted 
to,  they  must  be  taken  altogether,  and  resorted  to  for  what  they 
purport  upon  the  face  of  them  to  be.  They  purport,  then,  to  be 
a  reply  to  the  Attorney-General ;  and  I  ask  your  lordships  in 
what  language  such  charges  ought  to  be  refuted?  The  jury  was 


DAKIMi  O'OONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.l\  389 

composed  of  what  are  called  outrageously  loyal  men.  It  was 
the  interest  of  my  client,  who  had  long  been  the  advocate  of 
the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  to  stand  well  with  that  jury ;  it  was  his 
interest  that  his  counsel  should  stand  well  with  them. 

Besides,  there  was  a  higher  and  more  imperative  duty  on  the 
advocate — as  the  Catholics  are,  by  their  oaths  and  their  alle- 
giance to  the  constitution — feeling  for  myself  the  pride  of  disin- 
terested loyalty — that  loyalty  which  is  the  result  of  judgment 
and  of  principle,  not  the  mean  and  abject  speculation  of  personal 
gain — that  loyalty  which  would  equally  maintain  the  safety  of 
the  throne  and  the  liberty  of  the  people,  and  not  that  canting, 
peculating  loyalty  which  seeks  to  enrich  itself  by  cringing  sub- 
mission to  the  powerful,  and  insulting  oppression  to  the  weak' 
and  humble.  With  the  fire  of  genuine  and  constitutional  loyalty 
about  me,  I  di<}  brand  with  the  harsher  expressions  known  to 
the  language,  the  man  who  should  presume  to  impeach  the  alle- 
giance of  the  Irish  Catholic,  or  mine  own ;  and  I  will  even  pro- 
claim as  a  liar,  the  man  who  makes  that  charge,  whether  he  boldly 
and  directly  charges  it,  or  contents  himself  with  mean  insinua- 
tion of  its  truth. 

Thus  much  I  have  said  rather  for  myself  than  for  the  defen 
dant,  for  in  the  extravagant  shape  of  the  present  proceeding,  I 
have  the  air  of  being  on  my  trial  and  not  my  client ;  and  I  con- 
fess there  is  some  justice  in  this.  It  was  I  who  spoke  the  speech 
— it  was  I  who  urged  these  topics  of  defence — why  should  my 
client  be  punished  for  it  ?  It  was  I  who  commented  freely,  on 
the  Attorney-General,  and  addressed  the  jury  as  I  deemed  best 
— why  should  Mr.  Magee  suffer  for  my  acts  ? — why  should  he  be 
punished  for  the  boldness  of  my  language  ?  Is  it  because  he 
fiat  in  silence,  and  did  not  interrupt  me  ?  Why,  his  lordship, 
the  Chief  Justice,  who  presided  at  the  trial,  saw  me  there — he 
heard  me,  I  presume,  as  well  as  Mr.  Magee ;  the  counsel  for  the 
crown  heard  me,  and  did  not  interrupt  me ;  your  lordship  heard 
me,  and  did  not  interrupt  me — I  beg  pardon,  you  did  interrupt 
me  once,  and  then  I  was  able  easily  to  satisfy  your  lordship 
of  my  right  to  reply  to  the  Attorney- General.  If  there  were 
any  objection  to  what  was  said — if  tae  line  of  reasoning  or 
comment  I  pursued  was  objectionable  or  faulty,  the  trial  was 
the  time  to  have  noticed  it — it  was  the  time  peculiarly  and  ex- 
clusively suited  for  such  notice ;  and  it  is  due  as  well  to  the  tra- 
verser  as  to  the  prosecutor,  to  take  that  and  no  other  time  for 
the  investigation  of  the  propriety  of  the  defence 

It  is  then  that  the  counsel  for  the  defendant  caii  be  best  pre- 


340 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 


pared  to  vindicate  the  line  for  defence.  The  assertions  of  the 
antagonist,  his  conduct  at  the  trial,  are  then  fresh  in  the  recol- 
lection of  the  counsel  and  the  court — all  the  subject  is  in  the 
possession  of  the  counsel  for  the  traverser.  The  judge  himself 
can  then  best  determine — the  counsel  for  the  traverser  can  then 
best  maintain  his  right — a  doubtful  or  ambiguous  sentiment  can 
then  be  easily  explained,  and  made  to  bear  only  its  precise  and 
proper  meaning ;  in  short,  every  view  of  the  case  will  clearly 
jhow  that  the  trial  is  the  proper,  and  indeed  the  only  proper 
place  to  investigate  the  rights  of  the  parties,  the  privileges  of  the 
counsel,  and,  in  fact,  the  duties  of  the  judge. 

But,  suppose  it  otherwise — suppose  there  does  lie  some  new 
appeal  to  a  future  court — yet,  surely,  Mr.  Magee  is  not  to 
blame.  There  is  no  appeal  to  him  from  the  Chief  Justice  ;  he 
is  not  bound,  under  peril  of  punishment,  to  be  a  better  judge  ot 
the  propriety  of  a  defence  and  of  the  privileges  of  counsel  than 
his  lordship.  Was  it  ever  heard  of  that  a  private  person  was  re- 
quired, for  his  own  safety,  to  avoid  an  increase  of  punishment, 
demanded  to  superintend  the  conduct  of  the  bench,  and  to  be- 
come a  censor  of  the  judge  ?  Must  Mr.  Magee  be  punished  be- 
cause he,  fortified  by  the  example  of  the  court,  listened  in  silence 
to  the  topics  which  I  urged  !  The  Attorney-General  is,  there- 
fore, quite  unreasonable,  when  he  requires  of  the  court  to  increase 
the  punishment  of  Mr.  Magee  for  not  interrupting  the  discourse 
of  his  counsel. 

It  has,  however,  been  relied  on,  that  Mr.  Magee  afterwards 
in  his  newspaper,  approved  of  and  applauded  the  defence  set  up 
for  him,  and  avowed  it.  My  lords,  I  pray  you  see  to  what  this 
amounts.  In  the  first  place,  it  can  be  nothing  more  than  would 
necessarily  be  implied  from  his  silence.  The  client  is  presumed 
to  avow  that  defence  which  is  made  in  his  presence  ;  the  public 
avowal  of  it  can,  therefore,  make  no  difference.  Whether  he 
speaks  of  it  or  not,  the  defence  is  his  ;  the  public  avowal  is  nc 
aggravation.  But  in  the  next  place,  see,  I  entreat  of  you,  what 
Mr.  Magee  has  avowed  thus  publicly  ;  he  has  avowed  the  "  to- 
pics of  this  defence ;"  that  is  the  extent  of  his  avowal.  Now,  the 
speech  of  his  counsel — my  speech,  my  lords,  was  distinctly  and 
emphatically  divided  into  two  distinct  series  of  topics  :  the  lat- 
ter, and  lesser  part,  related  to  the  defence  of  Mr.  Magee  ;  the 
former,  and  far  greater  part  regarded  the  extravagant  attack 
made  by  the  Attorney- General  on  the  Catholic  population  o! 
Ireland.  All  the  passages  in  the  affidavit,  taken  from  those  ex- 
traneous topics,  arose  between  the  Attorney -General  ami 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  1C.P.  341 

personally ;  none  of  the  passages  in  the  aindavit  relate  to  the 
series  of  topics  in  the  defence,  properly  so  called.  The  avowal 
and  approbation  of  Mr.  Magee  are  referrible  only  to  the  topics  of 
defence,  and  not  to  the  matters  contained  in  the  affidavit  to  ag- 
gravate the  punishment.  To  his  defence  no  objection  has  been 
stated  ;  and  beyond  what  is  purely  his  defence  he  ought  not,  in 
any  view  of  his  case,  be  made  responsible. 

I  recapitulate,  for  Mr.  Magee,  his  publication  of  the  trial  is  nu 
crime — no  offence  cognizable  by  any  public  tribunal  ;  it  is  an 
act  to  which  the  law  declares  that  no  punishment  is  attachable. 
Besides,  here  it  is  sought  to  make  him  answer  for  what  could  be 
the  fault,  if  fault  at  all,  only  of  his  counsel.  And,  good  God ! 
what  a  precedent  will  be  established,  if  you  do  so ! — if  you  pun- 
ish him  for  that  which  the  zeal  of  his  counsel  urged  peihaps  in- 
discreetly— I  would  concede,  for  argument  sake,  improperly  •, 
but  not  for  this  ought  the  client  to  be  punished  ;  and  then  any 
approbation  given  by  him  is  confined  expressly  to  the  "topics  of 
defence  ;"  so  that  upon  any  view  of  the  subject,  he  cannot  be 
confounded  with  his  counsel.  In  short,  the  object — the  plain 
object  of  the  present  proceedings  is,  under  pretence  of  seeking 
punishment  on  the  client,  to  attack  the  counsel.  Your  lordships 
have  said  that  nothing  personal  to  me  was  meant  by  the  Attor- 
ney-General ;  but  welcome  should  any  attack  he  may;  choose  to 
make  on  me  be,  so  you,  my  lords,  spare  the  client,  innocent,  at 
least,  of  this  default.  I  put  his  case,  in  this  respect,  on  your 
sense  of  right  and  common  j  ustice. 

I  conclude  by  conjuring  the  court  not  to  make  this  a  precedent 
that  may  serve  to  palliate  the  acts  of  future,  and,  perhaps,  bad 
times.  I  admit — 1  freely  admit — the  Utopian  perfection  of  the 
present  period.  We  have  every  thing  in  the  best  possible  state  ; 
I  admit  the  perfection  of  the  bench — I  concede  that  there  cannot 
be  better  times,  and  that  we  have  the  best  of  all  possible  prosecu- 
tors— 1  am  one  of  those  who  allow,  that  the  things  that  be  could  not 
be  better.  But  there  have  been  heretofore  bad  times,  and  bad  time* 
may  come  again — there  have  been  partial,  corrupt,  intemperate, 
ignorant,  and  profligate  judges — the  bench  has  been  disgraced  by 
a  Bilknap,  a  Tressilian,  a  Jeffers,  a  Scroggs,  and  an  Alleybown. 
For  the  present  there  is  no  danger,  but,  at  some  future  period, 
tuch  men  may  arise  again,  and  if  they  do,  see  what  an  advantage 
they  will  derive  from  the  precedent  of  this  day,  should  it  receive 
your  lordships'  sanction. 

At  such  a  period  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  find  a  suitable  At* 
tomey-General — some  creature — narrow-minded,  mean,  col  urn- 


KKLECT  BPEKCHE3  OF 

nious,  of  inveterate  bigotry,  and  dastard  disposition,  who  shall 
prosecute  with  virulence  and  malignity,  and  delight  in  punish- 
ment. Such  a  man  will,  with  prudent  care  of  himself,  receive 
merited  and  contemptuous  retort.  He  will  safely  treasure  up  his 
resentment  for  four  months.  His  virulence  will,  for  a  season,  be 
checked  by  his  prudence  until,  at  some  safe  opportunity,  it  will 
explode  by  the  force  of  the  fermentation  of  its  own  putrefaction, 
and  throw  fbrth  its  filthy  and  disgusting  stores  to  blacken  those 
whom  he  would  not  venture  directly  to  attack.  Such  a  man  will, 
with  shameless  falsehood,  bring  sweeping  charges  against  the  po- 
pulation of  the  land,  and  afterwards  meanly  retract  and  deny 
them ;  without  a  particle  of  manliness  or  manhood,  he  will  talk 
of  bluster,  and  bravado,  and  courage ;  and  he  will  talk  of  those 
falsely,  and  where  a  reply  would  not  be  permitted. 

If  such  times  arrive,  my  lords,  the  advocate  of  the  accused  will 
be  sure  not  to  meet  what  I  should  meet  from  your  lordships  this 
day  were  I  so  attacked ;  he  will  not  meet  sympathy  and  equal 
liberty  of  speech.  No,  my  lords,  the  advocate  of  the  accused  will 
then  be  interrupted  and  threatened  by  the  bench,  lest  he  should 
wipe  off  the  disgrace  of  his  adversary — the  foul  and  false  calum- 
nies that  have  been  poured  in  on  him  !  The  advocate  then  will 
not  be  listened  to  with  the  patience  and  impartiality  with  which, 
in  case  of  a  similar  attack,  your  lordships  would  listen  to  me. 
The  then  attorney-general  may  indulge  the  bigoted  virulence  and 
the  dastard  malignity  of  an  ancient  and  irritated  female,  whose 
feelings  evaporate  in  words  ;  and  such  judges  as  I  have  described 
will  give  him  all  the  protection  he  requires  ;  and  although  at  pre- 
sent such  a  dereliction  of  every  decency  which  belongs  to  gentle- 
men would  not  be  permitted,  and  would  rouse  your  indignation, 
yet  in  such  bad  times  as  I  have  described,  the  foul  and  dastard 
assailant  would  be  sure,  in  court  and  beyond  it,  to  receive  the 
full  protection  of  the  bench,  whilst  the  objept  of  his  attack  would 
be  certain  of  meeting  imprisonment  and  fine,  were  he  to  at- 
tempt to  reply  suitably. 

My  lords,  you  who  would  act  so  differently — you  who  feel  with 
me  the  atrocity  of  such  a  proceeding — you,  my  lords,  will  not 
sanction  the  attempt  that  has  been  made  this  day  to  convert  the 
speech  of  counsel  against  the  client,  lest  by  doing  so,  you  should 
afford  materials  for  the  success  of  any  future  attorney-general,  as 
I  have  endeavoured  to  trace  to  you.  Before  I  sit  down,  I  have 
only  to  add,  that  I  know  the  reply  of  the  Solicitor-General  will, 
na  usual,  be  replete  with  talent,  but  I  also  kncv  it  will  be  con- 
ducted with  the  propriety  of  a  gentleiaao,  for  he  is  a  gentle- 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  343 

man — an  Irish  gentleman  ;  but  great  as  his  talents  are  they  can- 
not, upon  the  present  document,  injure  my  client.  With  respect 
to  his  colleague,  the  Attorney- General,  I  have  only  to  say  tha* 
whatever  relates  to  him  in  my  speech,  at  the  trial,  was  iinperu 
lively  called  for  by  his  conduct  there.  As  to  him  I  have  no  apo- 
logy to  make.  With  respect  to  him  I  should  repeat  my  former 
assertions.  With  respect  to  him  I  retract  nothing.  I  repeat 
nothing.  I  never  will  make  him  any  concessions.  I  do  now,  as 
I  did  then,  repel  every  imputation.  I  do  now,  as  I  did  then,  de- 
spise and  treat  with  perfect  contempt  every  false  calumny  that 
malignity  could  invent,  or  dastard  atrocity  utter  whilst  it  consi 
<iered  itself  in  safety." 

It  was  after  the  close  of  this  speech  of  Mr.  O'Connell's  that  Mr.  Magee's  repudiation  o 
him  was  made. 

Mr.  Wallace,  as  counsel  for  the  prisoner,  requested  to  be  heard  before  the  Solicitor-Gene- 
ral's reply ;  and  his  request  being  acceded  to,  he  delivered  a  long  and  laboured  argumeo* 
—contending  that  Mr.  Magee  was  not  to  be  held  responsible  for  his  counsel's  speech  ;  ant 
that  even  if  he  were,  his  adoption  of  it  by  the.publication  in  his  paper  and  as  a  pamphlet 
ahould  be  held  as  a  separate  offence,  separately  to  be  adjudicated  upon,  and  not  to  be  takei. 
without  trial,  as  an  aggravation  of  the  former. 

In  the  course  of  his  speech,  Mr.  Wallace  having  said  :— 

"  I  am  solicitous  to  avoid,  in  any  degree,  implicating  the  case  of  my  client,  Mr.  John 
Magee,  Mith  the  merit  or  the  demerit  of  his  counsel's  speeclu 

14 1*  my  learned  colleague  have  fallen  into  any  error  or  impropriety  in  the  speech  which  Lo 
delivered,  he  has  the  manliness  and  candour,  I  am  confident,  to  avow  it,  and  to  take  upoz. 
hlmselfthe  responsibility." 

Mr.  O'Connell — I  do  not  admit  that  I  have  been  guilty  of  any  impropriety. 

Mr  Wallace — I  am  misunderstood  if  it  be  supposed  that  I  mean  to  charge  any  impro 
priety  upon  Mr.  O'Connell.  I  say  only  tliat  if  such  impropriety  had  been  committed,  Ac. 

Notwithstanding  this  retractation,  Mr.  Wallace,  in  discharge,  it  is  to  be  supposed,  of  ths 
duty  his  client  had  imposed  upon  him,  suffered  himself  to  be  betrayed  into  rough  language 
afterwards,  using  such  expressions  as  "  the  sins  and  crimes  of  counsel,"  '•  abuse  of  the 
foronsic  robe,"  Ac.,  and  even  calling  on  the  bench  to  punish  Mr.  O'Connell  for  the  speech, 
ami  not  Mr.  Magee.  . 

Tuere  was  no  want  of  will  on  the  part  of  those  he  addressed  to  punish  the  former  as  wet 
ax  the  latter.  Neither  was  there,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  any  disinclination  on  the  parf 
of  .counsel  for  the  prosecution  to  press  for  such  a  course. 

But  prosecutor  and  judges  well  knew  that  Mr.  O'Connell  was  prepared  for  every  emer 
gency ;  and  that  no  submission  was  to  be  expected  from  him.  In  their  consciousneus  d 
the  truth  and  justice  of  even  the  most  violent  portions  of  his  address,  they  shrunk  from 
exercising  the  somewhat  doubtful  power  of  the  court  in  such  a  couflict  with  a  fearless  and 
a  determined  man.  In  short,  to  use  a  homely  proverb,  the  expressiveness  of  which  will 
plead  ita  excuse,  they  were  fearful  of  "  catching  a  Tartar." 

Mr.  Solicitor-General  accordingly  refused  to  draw  the  distinction  argued  for  by  Mr 
Wallace,  between  counsel  and  client ;  and  solacing  himself  with  some  foul  language,  for 
having  to  forego  the  direct  attack  upon  Mr.  O'Connell,  called  for  the  rigour  of  the  court 
against  Mr.  Magee,  for  his  original  offence  awl  its  aggravation— his  adoption,  by  a  printed 
•vowal  in  his  own  paper,  of  the  philipic  of  counsel 

The  Solicitor-General's  example  was  imitated  by  the  bench.  Lord  Chief  Justice  Downe* 
Indeed,  went  so  far  as  to  indulge  in  a  ludicrous  expression  of  pe"Hcnce  fur  not  having  him 
•elf  stopped  Mr.  O'Connell  in  mid-career. 


344  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Mr.  Justice  Day,  in  delivering  judgment,  had  the  powers  of  face  to  defend,  and  y  i-.iis* 
the  Lord  Chief  Justice  and  the  jury ! 

And  he  crowned  the  whole  by  a  eulogium  upon  the  court — as  a  "  sober,  unimpasrione^ 
trd  dignified  tribunal !  I !" 

It  is,  indeed  ludicrous  at  the  present  day  to  find  such  epithets  applied  to  the  whole  or 
any  portion  of  the  Irish  bench  for  many  years  after  the  Union.  Men  the  most  notoriously 
incompetent,  thepmost  notoriously  partizan,  disgraced  that  bench ;  placed  there  by  th" 
Infamous  governments  that,  under  the  auspice*  of  Castlereagh  and  Sidmouth,  afflicted  poor 
Ireland. 

The  following  was  the  sentence  passed  on  Mr.  Magee : — 

THK  SENTENCE— BT  JUSTICE  DAY. 

"Tne  sentence  of  the  court  is-  -That  you,  John  Magee,  do  pay  a  fine  of  £500  to  hit 
Majesty ;  that  you  be  imprisoned  for  the  space  of  two  years  in  Newgate,  to  be  computed 
from  the  day  of  conviction,  and  that  you  do  find  security  for  your  good  behav'our  for  scvet 
fears,  yourself  hi  the  sum  of  £1000,  and  two  sureties  in  the  sum  of  £500  each ;  and  that 
you  be  further  imprisoned  until  such  fine  be  paid,  and  such  security  given.' 


THE  VETO  QUESTION. 

THE  unhappy  question  of  the  "  V*TO,"  or  according  to  its  almost  equally-noted  designa- 
tion of  "  securities,"  (<.  «.,  securities  professedly  sought  for  under  the  insulting  pretence 
that  the  loyalty  of  our  clergy  required  to  be  attested  under  oath ;  but  really  intended  for 
the,  if  possible,  more  insulting  purpose  of  securing  government  control  over  cur  religiou 
Institutions  and  discipline,)  Vegan  now  to  mix  with  and  embitter  every  discussion  of  ttic 
popular  party.  To  sow  dissension  and  division  among  the  latter  was,  no  doubt,  one  of  t V 
collateral  objects  of  those  with  whom  the  project  originated,  and  in  this  respect,  aad  luc\i'.  v 
01  this  respect  alone,  did  they  eventually  obtain  a  triumph. 

Amongst  the  divisions  and  differences  of  opinion  and  feeling  alluded  to,  one  of  a  serioui 
nature  occurred  between  the  Catholic  Board  and  its  parliamentary  friends  and  advocates. 
The  Board,  alarmed  at  the  progress  which  the  "  veto"  or  "  securities"  question  seemed  to 
have  made  in  England,  and  the  apparent  acquiescence  in  it  of  the  English  Catholics,  had 
passed  a  resolution  pledging  themselves  and  requesting  of  their  friends  not  to  entertain 
any  question  of  the  kind,  without  the  previous  knowledge  and  full  application  of  the 
Catholic  prelates.  The  Earl  of  Donoughmore,  who,  in  accordance  with  the  then  liberal 
politics  of  his  family  (the  Hutchinsons),  was  the  leading  uivocate  of  the  Catholics  in  tho 
Upper  House,  and  Mr.  Grattan— JAe  "  Henry  Grattan"— who  tilled  the  same  position  in  the 
Lower,  refused  to  continue  in  communication  with  the  Catholic  Board  in  this  matter,  OB 
the  basis  proposed  by  the  latter— namely,  that  no  "  securities"  should  be  embodied  in  any 
future  "Relief"  Bill,  without  the  previous  knowledge  aud  approbation  of  the  Catholic 
t  relates. 

Both  accused  the  Board  of  at  least  the  appearance  of  an  intention  to  invade  the  privi- 
leges of  parliament,  and  to  dictate  to  it  by,  as  Lord  Donoughmore  worded  it,  "  leaving  *  ' 
laked  affirmative  or  dissent,  as  their  only  remaining  sphere  of  action,  to  the  represents 
ftves  of  the  people  and  the  hereditary  counsellors  of  the  crown." 

Mr.  O'Connell  at  a  meeting  of  the  20th  of  November  remarked,  that  these  letters  gave  ' 
the  opportunity  to  explain  the  real  views  and  motives  of  the  Loanl;  and  "  to  show  that 
their  conduct  was  sanctioned  by  the  constitution,  and  warranted  by  necessity— that  it  wan 
temperate  and  respectful :  but  always  firm  and  dignified." 

He  then  referred  to  the  previous  meeting  to  show  that  t!ie  tenor  of  the  resolution*  IUM) 
been  mistaken  by  the  noble  and  right  honouraV.c  writer*  of  the  letters  just  read—  that  from 
&  (t«feje  to  obviate  every  objection,  HU  matur  Low  little  wughi)  in  tJici;  ave*.  Uiev  )>»U 


D/LN1EL  O'CONNKLL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  345 

tflven  pp  the  intention  of  submitting  a  draft  of  a  bill,  confining  themselves  to  mere  sugce» 
lions,  and  that  they  did  not  wish  in  the  least  to  interfere  with  the  dignity,  or  control  tb« 
judgment  of  those  whom  they  addressed. 
lie  thus  continued  : — 

Bat  I  beg  Mr.  Chairman,  to  go  one  step  further,  and  to  con- 
tend that  there  is  no  dictation  implied  in  the  drawing  up  of  a  bill 
to  be  afterwards  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  a  member  ol 
parliament. 

Who  spoke  of  dictation  when  Mr.  Charles  Butler,  last  year, 
prepared  the  frame  of  a  bill  ?  Lord  Castlereagh,  who  now  pro- 
fesses to  be  our  ardent  friend,  did  not  call  that  dictation.  No  ; 
he  called  for  the  draft  of  a  bill,  and  I  believe  acted  upon  it.  Is 
the  privilege  reserved  for  Mr.  Butler,  and  are  the  Catholics  of 
Ireland  to  be  excluded  1 

Who  spoke  of  dictation  when  Mr.  Grattan  procured  the  frame 
of  a  bill  to  be  prepared  by  Mr.  Burro  wes,  by  Mr.  Burton,  and  by 
Mr.  Wallace  ?  If  the  frame  of  a  bill  cany  dictation  in  its  tram, 
why  did  our  illustrious  advocate  risk  our  caust  oy  getting  that 
draft  prepared  in  Ireland  ? 

Or  am  I,  in  sober  sadness,  to  inquire  whether  it  be  the  Irish 
Popish  touch  that  pollutes  the  deed,  and  renders  that  which  waa 
lauded  by  the  minister  in  England,  and  practised  by  the  Prote.s- 
tant  patriot  in  Ireland,  an  act  of  dictation  and  crime  in  us  ! 

Mr.  O'Conncll  concluded  with  a  motion  for  another  communication  to  be  addressed  tt 
the  ncble  lord  and  Mr.  Grattan,  respectfully  pointing  out  to  them  their  mistake  as  to  th* 
intentions  of  the  Board. 

Mr.  O'Gorman  (atter  two  or  three  speakers  had  been  heard  to  the  same  effect  as  Mr. 
O'Connell)  opposed  the  motion ;  and  in  deference  to  a  point  of  form,  it  was  withdrawn  f« 
the  day,  notice  being  given  that  it  would  be  brought  forward  again  at  the  next  meeting. 

On  tliat  occasion  (27th  November)  Mr.  O'Conneli  accordingly  moved  it,  in  an  altered  and 
modified  sliape— namely  as  "  for  a  committee  to  prepare  answers"  to  the  letters  in  ques- 
tion. 

He  alluded  to  some  of  his  former  arguments ;  and  cited  the  cases  of  Lord  Melville  and 
Mr.  Pitt's  conduct  towards  the  Catholic  delegates  on  two  occasions,  to  show  that  thert 
would  be  nothing  derogatory  in  their  being  listened  to  by  private  members  of  either  house. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  (he  continued),  that  any  one  should 
be  able  so  well  to  unravel  the  labyrinth,  whose  intricacy  had 
caused  the  defects  of  former  bills,  as  men  whose  interests  and 
feelings  had  led  them  to  make  it  the  study  of  a  great  part  of  their 
lives,  and  who  had  been  continually  in  the  habit  of  answering,  as 
<  ounsel,  the  applications  of  persons  aggrieved  by  these  compli- 
cated laws. 

In  short,  a  recurrence  to  the  information  in  the  hands  01 
Catholics  was  the  only  means  to  prevent  the  same  unhappy  catas- 
trophe which  destroyed  the  fruits  of  last  year's 


340 


MKLECT  SPEECHES  OP 


How  lamentable  if  the  Irish  people  should  be  deprived  of  results 
almost  within  their  grasp,  by  internal  dissension,  or  by  a  secession 
from  each  other,  which,  if  it  were  not  really  dissension,  inflicted 
all  the  consequences  of  such  a  calamity ! 

What !  shall  an  attorney-general  be  able  to  boast,  as  he  did  to 
me  this  day  (Mr.  O'Connell  had  just  come  from  the  scene  of  Mr. 
Magee's  renewed  persecution)  that  there  is  a  party  of  the  Catho- 
lics of  Ireland  attached  to  him  !  To  HIM — their  continual,  their 
unwearied  persecutor  ! !  !  And  have  there  been  appearances  iu 
our  behaviour  to  each  other  which  could  give  the  colour  of  truth 
to  such  an  assertion  ;  and  shall  we  continue  to  authorize  it  f — 
Shall  we  not  rather  sacrifice  every  difference  of  opinion,  every 
individual  prejudice,  and  unite  at  once  to  spurn  away  the  con- 
tumely with  which  it  stains  us  ? 

For  my  own  part,  I  have  heard  that  some  gentlemen  are  kept 
away  by  a  fear  that  I  may  recur  to  the  subject  of  an  alleged 
promise  to  the  Prince  Regent.  I  utterly  disclaim  such  an  inten- 
tion. I  never  will  recur  to  it.  In  the  name  of  my  esteemed 
and  patriot  friend,  George  Bryan,  I  can  also  state,  that  he  never 
again  will  mention  it.  Let  every  Irishman  offer  up  his  sacrifice 
on  the  altar  of  unanimity ;  her  omnipotent  spirit  will  receive  our 
incense  with  gladness,  and  will  guide  us  irresistibly  through  every 
danger,  to  the  goal  of  triumph  and  success  ! 

There  are  but  two  causes  that  can  retard  our  success — disunion 
end  distrust  among  ourselves  ;  and  the  continuance  of  that  un- 
worthy prejudice  among  others,  which  degrades  the  Catholic  to 
comparative  insignificance  in  the  scale  of  intelligent  beings. 

.  .  .  .  Is  it  not  thought  high  insolence  in  a  Popish  writer 
to  be  talented  ? — in  a  Popish  mechanic  to  exercise  his  profession 
with  ingenuity  ?  And  from  what  other  source  could  it  arise 
*ere  Catholic  assistance  to  be  refused  in  the  formation  of  a  bill 
to  relieve  us  ?  Did  not  Mr.  Wilberforce  consult  with  the  ftegroea 
on  the  subject  of  their  slavery,  receive  information  from  fcbem, 
and  bring  the  answers  of  the  African  to  the  bar  of  the  House  o 
Commons?  And  is  the  Catholic  alone  to  labour  under  the 
stigma  of  mental  degradation,  without  asserting  the  rights  of  hii 
nature  t 

The  motion  was  canned  with  some  discussion,  but  no  opposition ;  and  Lord  Ffrench,  who 
was  in  the  chair,  Mr.  O'Connell  himself;  and  Messrs.  Dromgoole,  Mahon,  Bryan,  Scully 
Finn,  Owen  O'Connor,  Finlay,  and  Sir  T.  J  *monde  appointed  of  the  committee. 

On  Wednesday,  December  1st,  after  some  general  business,  Mr.  O'Gorman  called  Mr. 
•ttrntion  of  the  Board  to  the  attack*  on  Mr.  O'ConnelL  for  hU  conduct  as  counsel  foi  tlte 


DANIEL  O'COXNT^LL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  347 

VSdiolas  Mahon  -warmly  concurred  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  O'Gorman,  that  it  was  the  duty 
r.t"  rhe  Catholics  to  come  forward  and  repel  the  attacks  made  upon  Mr.  O'Connell,  "  by  some 
solid  and  lasting  memorial,  which  he  could  hand  down  to  his  latest  posterity."  He  further 
styled  him  the  "  best  and  dearest  friend  of  his  country." 

Mr.  Plunkett  had  so  imperatively  felt  that  every  Catholic  In  the  land  was  bound  to  cornr 
forward  and  support  the  undaunted,  incorruptible,  and  inflexible  supporter  of  the  CatholV 
people ;  that,  although  not  a  member  of  the  Board,  he  had  attended  that  day  for  the  soK 
purpose  of  declaring  his  determination  to  support  him  at  the  hazard  of  his  life  and  fortune 
He  felt  that  upon  this  subject  his  powers  of  expression  were  altogether  inadequate  to  dc 
justice  to  his  feelings ;  but  h«  would  venture  to  assert,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  th». 
the  man  of  whom  he  spoke  vas  the  first  of  Irishmen — that  he  lives  more  in  the  affection! 
of  the  people  than  any  other  who  could  be  named  I  And  it  would  be  wonderful  indeed o. 
the  fact  were  otherwise,  for  it  had  been  his  unceasing  ambition  to  expose,  at  the  risk  of  hia 
person  and  fortune,  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  the  enemies  of  Ireland,  and  to  rally  a 
genuine  spirit,  which  had  .long  lain  dormant  in  this  country,  and  which  he  had  at  length 
so  effectually  accomplished,  that  it  would  take  the  minister,  with  all  his  pqwer,  and  th* 
treasury  at  his  back,  full  fifty  years  to  overcome  it  even  if  the  glorious  career  of  its  flrrt 
mover  v.-ere  at  this  n>  -ment  to  be  stopped. 

I  (to  object  had  ever  been  to  rally  men  of  nl7  persuasions,  parties,  and  iabits,  under  fiae 
title— that  of  Irishmen ;  and  Mr.  Plunkett  thought  the  Board  should  come  to  som*  immo- 
I'.te  resolution  indicative  ot  their  conviction  of  his  merits. 

Mr.  O'Conor  (the  chairman)  regretted  that  it  should  be  thought  necessary  to  delay  such 
«  measure. 

Counsellor  O'Gorman  wished  to  give  every  member  an  opportunity  of  doing  justice  to 
transcendant  desert. 

Mr.  Scully  pronounced,  a  speech  in  which  he  dwelt  upon  the  many  claims  of  Mr.  O'Coa- 
Rpll  on  the  gratitude  of  his  country,  the  total  failure  of  any  attempts  to  iiijur-  him  in  hie 
wcfesaion,  (if  indeed  such  attempts  were  made  at  fllj,  and  decluied  iiis  warm  approbation 
of  the  notice  respecting  the  testimonial  of  the  feeling  ot  the  lie/art!  towards  him.  He  said 
it  was  a  fact  notorious,  that  not  even  »,ne  late  Sergeant  Ball  (before  he  got  a  silk  gown)  had 
more  extensive  practice,  more  general  business  than  Mr.  O'Connell  enjoy»At  this  moment: 
and  those  who  visit  the  courts,  and  the  agents  and  clients  who  employ  him,  know  best 
with  what  excellence  that  business  is  done. 

Yet,  with  all  this,  he  contrived  to  devote  morn  time  to  the  public  good,  and  to  .'idulfle 
the  native  excellence  of  his  disposition  in  acts  of  private  benwolence,  than  almost  any 
other  man  I  As  to  the  alleged  secession,  he  did  not  think  it  would  be  becoming  the  dignity 
r-f  the  Board  to  entertain  any  specific  measure  upon  it ;  and  he  drew  a  long  picture  of  the 
unpleasant  situation  in  which,  he  presumed,  the  persons  said  to  have  seceded  must  be 
placed. 

MR.  O'CoNXELL  said  it  had  been  suggested  to  him  not  to  speak ; 
but  it  was  impossible  to  listen  to  such  language  as  he  Imd  just 
heard  without  emotions  indescribable,  and  still  more  impossible 
would  it  be  to  listen  to  it  and  remain  silent. 

When  first  he  had  volunteered  as  the  advocate  of  his  country'* 
rights,  he  did  conceive  that;  he  had  embarked  in  the  service  of 
an  insolvent  ingratitude,  but  never  was  a  man  more  completely 
mistaken.  He  had  met  rewards  equal  to  the  most  brilliant  ser- 
vices, when,  in  fact,  all  he  would  lay  claim  to  was  good  intention- 
No  form  of  words  could  convey  an  idea  of  what  he  felt,  when  Le 
heard  his  name  coupled  with  encomiums  BO  dipproportioned  to 
any  thing  he  could  effect — he  would  not  attempt  an  ITT.  possibility. 


348  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

In  returning  thanks  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Plunkett,  for  the  hind- 
ness  of  his  expressions  towards  him,  he  wished  to  say,  that  in  any 
personal  controversy  in  which  he  might  happen  to  be  engaged, 
he  required  neither  aid  nor  seconding.  If  he  required  assistance 
other  than  his  own  arms  could  afford  him.  he  would  not  deserve  to 
receive  it.  If  a  miscreant,  clad  in  the  robes  of  an  alderman,  had 
dared  to  introduce  a  personal  quarrel  of  his  into  a  public  trans- 
action, he  owed  his  protection  to  his  clcak  and  his  secrecy. 

Was  he  (Mr.  O'Connell)  to  meet  him  in  the  street,  he  wouM 
proclaim  him  a  coward. 

With  respect  to  his  profession,  he  was  only  surprised  at  the 
perseverance  with  which  clients  committed. their  cases  to  him. 
The  progress  he  had  made  had  been  effected  in  despite,  in  con- 
tempt of  favouritism  ;  and  if  his  professional  career  were  stopped 
by  any  conspiracy,  he  should  not  be  astonished  at  it !  As  to  an 
attack  that  was  made  upon  him,  and  which  came  from  a  quarter 
that  could  not  be  replied  to,  if  emancipation  was  earned,  it  should 
oe  brought  before  the  proper  tribunal.  A  scene  which  must 
surprise  the  British  parliament  would,  in  that  case,  be  unfolded. 


REPLY  TO  MR.   RICHARD  L.  SHEIL. 

OK  Wednesday,  the  8th  of  December,  occurred  an  almost  first  meeting,  and 
of  opinion  between  Mr.  O'Connell  and  Mr.  Slicil. 

The  Board  met  at  the  Shakspoare  Gallery,  in  Exchequer  now  Wick  low-street— a 
given  for  the  pwposc  by,  strange  to  say,  one  of  the  old  corporation,  a  good-humoured,  well- 
'jatefed  individual,  of  somewhat  eccentric  character,  named  Stephenson.  Lord  Ffrvnt h 
KM  ir  the  Chair. 

Tbe  proceedings  commenced  with  a  notice  by  Mr.  O'Connell,  of  an  Intended  address  to 
.be  Northern  Catholics,  warning  them  from  joining  Ribbon  Societies,  or  safforfng  them- 
leM*  in  any  way  to  be  betrayed  into  criminality  by  the  provocations  of  the  Orangemen. 

Doctor  Dromgoolo  aext  brought  forward  a  motion,  for  some  time  on  the  books,  nnd  iwst- 
/Micd  from  meeting  to  meeting,  for  a  positive  and  unqualified  declaration  on  the  part  of 
the  Catholic  body  against  "  teciirilies"  of  any  kind,  description,  or  degree ;  and  against 
even  entertaining  any  proposition  under  any  circumstances,  which  could  be  at  all  construed 
toto  a  suggestion  of  them. 

The  motiou  was  ably  seconded  by  Dr.  Sheridan. 

Mr.  Shell  then  rose  in  opposition.    Toe  Evening  Pest  thus  treats  of  his  speech  :— 

14  We  sliall  not  pronounce  upon  certainly  one  of  the  rcost  brilliant  harangues  ever  deU 
rered  in  a  public  assembly.  Mr.  Shell  nas  taken  a  part  contrary  to  that  recommended  bj 
us.  and  finally  contrary  to  that  adopted  by  the  Catholic  Board ;  but  we  feel  great  satisfac- 
tion In  giving  circulation  to  a  correct  and  faithful  copy  of  his  speech.  It  is  an  honour  t-j 
Liu  country,  although  we  cannot  he1?  tMnkinic  It  directed  against  his  country's  dearent 

teresta." 

I 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  34S 

Mr.  Shell  concluded  amid  very  warm  cheering. 
Mr  O'Connell  rose  immediately  in  reply : — 

My  lord,  whilst  the  meeting  is  yet  dazzled  and  warmed  with 
the  brilliant  and  glowing  language — "the  thoughts  that  breathe, 
and  words  that  burn" — of  my  young  friend,  I  rashly  offer  myself 
to  your  consideration. 

I  rashly  interpose  the  cold,  dull  jargon  of  the  courts — the  un- 
animated  and  rough  dialect  of  the  pleader  ;  but  the  cause  of 
freedom  and  of  my  country  will  enable  me,  even  me,  to  unravel 
the  flimsy  web  of  sophistry  which  is  hid  beneath  the  tinsel 
glare  of  meretricious  ornament.  Unsound  reasoning  may  be  so 
adorned  by  the  flowers  of  the  imagination,  and  the  corruscation 
of  fancy,  as  to  dazzle  for  a  moment  and  mislead,  but  it  requires 
only  the  sober  voice  of  plain  sense — it  asks  only  the  sacred  name 
of  liberty  and  our  native  land,  to  break  the  spell,  to  dissolve  the 
enchantment,  and  to  expose  the  genuine  deformity  of  the  unpa- 
triotic advocacy. 

Let  me  not  be  misunderstood  ;  I  admire,  no  man  can  more 
admire,  the  splendid  talents  of  my  young  friend  \  I  appreciate 
them  at  their  full  value — 1  hold  them  higher  than  he  does  him- 
self. They  were  bestowed  on  him  for  the  highest  purposes — they 
are  suited  to  the  greatest  and  best  purposes — to  relieve  and  adoro 
his  country.  He  does  not  do  justice  to  his  own  genius  when  he 
confines  it  to  the  advocacy  of  a  sect  or  party.  Let  it  never  be 
reproach  that- 

*  Born  for  the  universe,  he  narrowed  his  mind, 
And  to  party  gave  up  what  was  meant  for  mankind.' 

Oh,  no !  Let  him  raise  his  soul  to  the  elevation  of  his  talents, 
and  not  take  the  puny  and  pigmy  ground  of  party  or  division. 
Lot  him  devote  himself  to  his  country  !  God  and  nature  have 
been  bountiful  to  him.  Let  him,  in  recompense,  as  bountifully 
give,  by  consecrating  to  the  service  of  liberty  and  Ireland  all 
the  fascinations  of  his  fancy,  and  all  the  brilliant  glories  of  his 
genius.  See  how  mistaken  he  must  be,  when  I  can  exhibit  my- 
self his  superior.  I  own  I  am  his  inferior  in  talent,  but  the  cause 
I  advocate  sustains  me,  and  my  eloquent  young  friend  sinks  be- 
neath the  cause  which  he  has  espoused. 

I  must  regret  that  he  has  given  utterance  to  sentiments  which 
every  sense  of  duty  commands  me  to  condemn.  The  doctrine* 
of  slavery,  which  he  has  preached,  I  must  censure.  He  has  told 
us  that  the  Catholics  have  nothing  to  do  with  questions  of  free- 
dom or  the  constitution — that  their  object  should  be  to  place 


3-30  SELECT  SfEBCJIErt  OF 

themselves  on  a  level  with  the  Protestants,  and  he  is  indifferent 
whether  this  equality  be  obtained  by  pulling  down  tha  Protes- 
tant or  elevating  the  Catholic.  In  direct  terms  he  has  preferred 
the  dead  level  of  despotism  to  our  present  situation  of  compara- 
rive  inferiority. 

My  lord,  I  object  to  those  assertions,  I  protest  against  those 
principles  of  action.  Many  of  the  topics  which  have  bami  urged 
by  the  eloquent  gentleman  do  not  bear  on  the  present  subject  of 
debate.  It  is  unnecessary  to  reply  to  them.  To  much  more  of 
his  discourse  it  is  needless  to  reply,  because  he  did  himself  give 
the  most  powerful  and  the  best  answer  to  the  ar^'Aineiits  that 
might  be  used  against  the  motion  of  Dr.  Drorngoole.  But  it  i.s 
incumbent  on  every  friend  to  freedom,  and  to  the  constitution, 
to  confute  the  slavish  doctrine  we  have  just  heard.  I  am  ready 
to  meet  him  on  this  topic  pithily,  directly,  and  imeqtiivc.'cally. 

The  proposed  resolution  goes  to  declare  that  either  as  Irish- 
men, or  as  Catholics,  we  never  will  consent  to  allow  to  thj  crown, 
or  the  servants  of  the  crown,  any  interference  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  cur  bishops !  I  support  this  motion  upon  both  grounds : 
— First,  as  an  Irishman,  that  tlus  interference  would  be  injurious 
to  public  liberty.  Secondly,  as  a  Catholic,  that  it  woidd  be  de- 
st/uctive  of  the  Catholic  religion.  The  manners  of  society — the 
state  of  the  public  press,  fettered  and  in  cliains  though  it  be — 
the  decency  and  ducurum  of  modern  habits,  the  progress  of  the 
numan  mind,  and  many  other  causes,  render  the  constitution 
secure  from  open  and  direct  attack.  Absolute  power  is  not  likely 
to  be  obtained,  nor  even  sought  after  by  direct  force  and  plan: 
violence.  But  who  is  thorc  so  blind  as  not  to  see  the  inroads 
that  have  been  made  upon  our  rights  and  liberties  by  the  effect 
v/f  corroding  influence  ?  Who  is  so  sunk  in.  apathy — who  is  sc 
degraded  in  stupidity,  as  not  to  perceive  how  unconditiiuial  aud 
unlimited  the  power  is  that  may  be  obtained  indirectly  and  by 
corruption  ?  In  truth,  the  only  danger  that  menaces  the  con- 
stitution, tl*»  only  chance  of  rendering  that  constitution  a  mere 
name,  avisos  from  the  spread  of  influence  and  corruption,  which, 
like  a  cancer  on  a  fair  face,  disfigures  and  destroys  the  beautiful 
fabric  of  public  freedom! 

He  is  no  friend  to  liberty — Le  knows  uot  how  to  appreciate 
freedom — he  is  fitted  for  slavery,  who  can  behold  unmoved  the 
progress  of  this  terrific  disease  in  the  state — influence  !  I  cup- 
port  the  present  motion  because  I  dread  and  detect  that  influ- 
ence, aud  should  deem  ciysfif  unworthy  to  seek  for  any  liberty, 
could  I  i -on son t  to  increase  the  influence  of  the  servants  of  the 


ESQ.,  M.P.  S5\ 

crown.  The  young  gentleman  has  argued,  that  this  influence  is 
already  so  great,  that  the  appointment  of  our  bishops  would  not 
add  to  the  evil,  and  he  has  underrated  much  the  value,  ever,  in 
a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  of  the  office  of  Catholic  bishops.  Let 
the  servants  of  the  crown  then  be  content  with  the  patronage 
they  have  It  is  sufficient  for  their  purpose,  and  if  thi§  addition 
be  but  small,  let  them  leave  us  this  small  independence,  for  this 
little  is  our  all — and  great  it  is  in  fact. 

The  state  is  secure  already  of  the  allegiance  of  the  Catholic 
bishop,  he  is  bound  to  the  state  by  his  repeated  and  solemn 
oaths;  but,  not  content  with  this,  the  ministers  want  to  have  him 
become  their  political  agfent — they  want  to  have  him  in  the  sub- 
servient management  of  electioneering  politics  :  if  they  succeed 
in  obtaining  the  power  to  appoint  a  Catholic  bishop,  they  will, 
without  doubt,  take  good  care  to  stipulate  with  him  for  the 
selection  of  priests  devoted  to  their  patrons  ;  and  at  the  ensuing 
elections  we  shall  see  the  courtly  sheriff  become  insignificant — 
the  castle  bishop  will  canvass  the  diocese,  the  parish  priest  will 
ransack  the  different  districts  of  the  county,  and  you  will  have  a 
Vereker,  or  a  Bagwell  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  a  duped  people, 
in  the  room  of  a  Glentworth  or  a  Matthew. 

I  do,  therefore,  meet  the  eloquent  young  gentleman  upon  this 
ground  first,  and  insist  that  we  should  be  unworthy  of  emanci- 
pation should  we  adopt  his  doctrines.  Emancipation  !  My  lord, 
the  word  would  cease  to  have  its  appropriate  meaning — the  thing 
would  cease  to  have  any  value.  By  emancipation  I  mean  a  par- 
ticipation in  the  free  constitution  of  this  country — not  a  chance 
of  sharing  in  the  public  plunder.  By  emancipation  I  understand 
a  right  as  a  freeman  to  constitutional  liberty,  not  a  participation 
in  the  servitude  of  slaves — not  a  share  in  the  authority  of  a 
despot. 

Besides,  I  beg  to  bring  your  minds  to  the  second  motive  for 
adopting  this  resolution  : — The  injury  your  religion  must  sustain 
if  the  minister  of  the  day  appoint  our  prelates.  The  minister  is 
and  will  continue  a  Protestant  as  far  as  a  minister  of  state  may 
be  said  to  have  any  religion.  If  he  be  sincere,  as  a  Protestant 
his  choice  of  a  bishop  will  bte  governed  by  his  sincerity,  and  he 
will  appoint  as  Catholic  bishop  the  man  least  likely  to  serve  the 
Catholic  religion — most  likely  to  injure  and  degrade  that  religion, 

But  suppose  him  insincere,  as  a  Protestant,  there  will  be  D^ 
doubt  of  his  attachment  to  power  as  a  statesman.  As  a  states- 
man, then,  who  will  he  appoint  as  bishop  ?  The  man  who  can 
purchase  the  mtuation — perho;>s  for  money — ccxtainly  for  c»jr- 


362  BELECT  SPEECHES  Of 

vice.  And  does  any  man  imagine  that  the  Catholic  religion  will 
prosper  in  Ireland,  if  our  prelates,  instead  of  being  what  they 
are  at  present,  shall  become  the  servile  tools  of  her  administra- 
tion. They  would  then  lose  all  respect  for  themselves ;  all  re- 
spectability in  the  eyes  of  others ;  they  would  be  degraded  to 
the  station  of  excisemen  and  gangers  ;  and  the  people,  disgusted 
and  dissatisfied,  would  be  likely  to  join  the  first  enthusiastic 
preacher  of  some  new  form  of  Methodism,  that  might  conciliate 
their  ancient  prejudices,  and  court  their  still  living  passions. 

The  ministerial  bishops  of  Ireland  would  become  like  the  con- 
stitutional bishops  of  France,  one  of  the  means  of  uncatholicising 
the  land.  I  beg  to  remind  the  young  gentleman  of  the  descrip- 
tion he  himself  has  given  of  the  English ;  he  has  told  us  they 
were  sunk  in  prejudice,  and  overcome  by  groundless  and  irre- 
coverable antipathy  to  Irish  Catholics.  And  if  this  be  so,  and 
much  of  his  argument  was  founded  on  the  assumption  of  this  as  a 
fact,  if  this  be  so,  who  in  his  senses  would  think  of  confiding  to 
these  English  the  government  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Ireland, 
and  the  appointment  of  her  bishops.  He  who  would  confide  to  Eng- 
land this  sacred  duty,  demonstrates  that  she  is  unfit  for  it.  Surely 
he  cannot  be  prepared  to  sacrifice  all  religion  and  country,  for 
the  name  and  shadow  of  a  useless  and  degrading  emancipation. 

I  therefore  call  on  this  meeting,  as  they  are  Catholics,  and 
value  the  religion  which  they  have  inherited  and  believe  ;  as 
they  are  Irishmen,  and  idolize  their  native  land  and  her  liberties, 
to  reject  the  splendid  fascinations  of  my  youthful  friend,  and  -to 
adopt  the  proposed  mction. 

Let  us  show  that  we  value  freedom,  and  therefore  deserve  to 
be  free !  Let  us  prove  that  we  respect  the  constitution,  and 
therefore  merit  to  partake  of  its  blessings.  Let  us  resist,  not  in- 
crease, an  already  overgrown  influence,  which  may  be  so  fatal  to 
liberty,  to  justice,  to  happiness  ! 

But  I  go  further ;  for  my  part,  I  hold  my  Protestant  fellow- 
countrymen  in  no  animosity ;  I  view  them  with  no  jealousy :  I 
wish — I  sincerely  wish  to  elevate,  not  to  degrade  them.  JThey 
*re  Irishmen,  as  I  am,  and  I  am  anxious  for  their  liberties  ;  even 
ihould  I  not  increase  my  own,  I  should  be  delighted  to  promote 
theirs.  My  desire  is  directly  the  reverse  of  that  of  Mr.  Sheil ; 
he  prefers  the  equality  of  slavery,  to  the  having  one  class  de- 
pressed and  the  other  elevated.  For  my  part,  if  I  could  not  elevate 
the  Catholic,  I  wish  not  to  depress  the  Protestant.  I  would  ad- 
vance both  if  I  could ;  I  would  depress  neither;  and  if  the  Catho- 
lic be  still  a  slave,  it  is  some  comfort  to  my  mind  that  the  Irish 


DANIEL  O'OONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  358 

Protestant  has  some  share  of  freedom ;  and  here  I  answer  the 
question  of  my  young  friend.  He  asks  am  I  content  to  be  a 
slave,  that  others  may  be  free  ?  The  question  relates  to  myself 
personally ;  I  answer  it  at  once.  If  I  can  procure  freedom  for 
lay  country,  I  am  content  with  torture — death — with  what  is 
worse  than  either,  with  slavery  ! 

He  then  asks,  if  I  consent  that  my  children  should  be  slaves 
for  the  sake  of  my  country  ?  I  readily  answer — no.  For  my- 
self, I  can  submit  to  slavery,  but  not  for  them.  It  is,  indeed,  to 
confer  the  blessings  of  liberty  on  the  nestlings  of  my  heart  (my 
children),  that  1  struggle  against  obloquy,  conspiracy,  and  ca- 
lumny— I  can  sacrifice  myself,  but  not  them ;  but  it  is  my  dearest 
duty  so  to  educate  them  in  the  love  of  Ireland,  that  each  for  him- 
self will  be  ready  to  make  the  sacrifice  of  his  all  for  Ireland. 

Let  me  in  my  turn  put  a  question  or  two  to  the  eloquent  young 
gentleman.  Knows  he  not  how  delightful  it  must  be  to  suffer 
for  our  country  ?  Does  he  not  feel  how  sweet  pain,  and  reproach, 
and  death  would  be  for  Ireland  ?  Has  he  not  a  monitor  within 
that  tells  him  it  requires  no  heroism  to  prefer  his  native  land  to 
self,  and  that  the  first  transport  of  existence  must  be  to  contri- 
bute, by  any  sacrifice,  to  his  country's  liberties  1  If  he  have  any, 
,vhy  did  he  question  me  ?  if  he  have  not,  let  me  assure  him, 
compassion  must  give  way  to  admiration  ;  and  I  must  pity  even 
vhilst  I  admire  his  poetic  strains. 

I  stop  here  for  one  moment,  to  protest  against  one  sentence 
of  the  learned  doctor,  on  which  1  trust  I  mistook  him.  He  spoke 
of  the  thousand  sects  that  nestle  under  the  wing  of  Protestantism, 
and  he  spoke  in  terms  that  appeared  to  me  to  imply  disrespect. 
For  my  part,  I  shall  never,  in  silence,  listen  to  any  langu  age 
trenching  on  the  freedom  of  religious  opinion,  or  implying  dis- 
respect to  any  man  who  follows  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience  ; 
if,  instead  of  a  thousand  sects  of  Protestants,  they  have  the  same 
right  to  choose  for  themselves  that  the  learned  doctor  has  ;  and 
it  would  little  become  him,  struggling  for  freedom  of  conscience 
for  himself,  to  reproach  the  effort  of  that  liberty  in  others.  Any 
man  who  worships  the  Deity  in  the  form  which  his  unbiassed 
conscience  prescribes,  is  worthy  of  respect ;  he  may  be  in  error, 
but  his  error  can  only  deserve  compassion  not  reproach. 

Doctor  Dromgoole  here  interposed  by  disavowing  any  disrespect  to  any  iect  of  Christian*. 

From  this  digression,  my  lord,  I  come  back  to  the  argument* 
of  the  eloquent  young  gentleman,  Mr.  Sheil. 

Ho  intimates,  that  he  has  at  length  found  out  tha  grand  ecorcl 


3^4  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

for  obtaining  emancipation ;  and  he  insinuates  that  we  have 
hitherto  misconducted  the  cause,  and  postponed  freedom.'  I 
shall  follow  him  upon  both  topics — first,  his  secret  for  obtaining 
emancipation  ;  and,  secondly,  his  discovery  of  our  mistakes  in 
that  pursuit.  His  secret  to  emancipate  is  thus  disclosed  :  the 
English,  he  said,  are  prejudiced  against  us,  vilely  prej udiced — 
their  prejudice  is  inveterate,  and  cannot  by  any  means  be  cured; 
it  must  therefore  be  yielded  to,  and  gratified,  if  you  would  be 
emancipated ;  but  the  only  method  of  gratifying  their  proud 
prejudice,  is  by  sacrificing  to  it  some  share  of  the  discipline  at 
least,  if  not  of  the  doctrine,  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

My  lord,  nothing  can  be  more  clear  or  distinct  than  this  rea- 
soning; but  I  contend  for  it,  that  it  is  built  on  untrue  premises ; 
and  even  if  it  were  true  in  all  its  terms,  it  should  be  rejected 
from  higher  considerations.  But  I  deny  the  premises  ;  admit- 
ting, however,  that  the  English  are  ignorant — grossly  ignorant 
of  JLS,  and  therefore  blindly  prejudiced  against  us.  I  admit  this 
/hot,  «md  the  causes  of  that  prejudice  have  b$en  given  by  Mr. 
Shell.  The  genius  of  misrepresentation  has  presided  over  their 
historians,  from  the  splendid  romance  of  the  unbelieving  Hume 
to  tuo  stupid  and  malignant  fictions  of  the  credulous  Musgrave. 
It  ist«y  tnis»*ebresentation  that  the  English  have  become  preju- 
diced ;  facts  Have  been  distorted  and  falsified  ;  truth  has  been 
violated  ;  individuals  have  been  calumniated  ;  tenets  abhorrent 
from  our  judgment,  our  reason,  and  our  religion  have  been  im- 
puted to  us,  and  continue  to  be  imputed  to  us! 

Hduco  this  prejudice — hence  this  evil;  and  here  also  is  the 
rcniody  to  be  found.  It  is  by  constant  and  unwearied  applica- 
tion to  the  causes  of  disease.  It  is  by  explaining  away  misre- 
presentation ;  by  vindicating  the  truth  of  history  ;  by  demon- 
ntrat.'iu:  the  falsehood  of  calumnies  ;  by  the  public  rejection  of 
the  abominable  tenets  imputed  to  us,  and  the  plain  and  manly 
exposition  of  our  real  and  genuine  opinions.  It  is  not  sufficient 
once,  or  twice,  or  ten,  or  fifty  times  to  meet  this  enemy  of  false- 
hood, or  vindicate  our  friend,  truth.  The  English  have  become 
prejudiced  by  the  force  of  repetition  of  calumny.  We  shall  set 
the»n  right,  by  means  of  the  repetition  of  the  vindication. 

Will  the  gentleman  contend,  that  falsehood  and  delusion  art 
all-powerful — candour  and  truth  vain  and  impotent  ?  In  the 
drat  encounter,  they  may  be  defeated  by  proud  and  overbearing 
r-nd  .stupid  prejudice,  I  admit ;  but  candpur  and  truth  have  in 
them  a  reviving  principle;  and  returning  again  and  again  to  the 
Contest,  they  must  ultimately  prevail.  I  do  therefore  rely  on 


DANIEL  Q'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  3f»3 

the  force  of  the  truth — on  the  repetition  of  our  vindication,  as  tho 
means  of  overcoming  English  prejudice. 

He  says  you  should  sacrifice  some  of  the  discipline  of  your 
Church  to  this  English  Dagon.  I  deny  that  the  idol  is  worthy 
of  such  a  sacrifice.  I  deny  that  you  could  conciliate  the  monster  by 
any  sacrifice  short  of  your  entire  religion,  discipline,  doctrine  and 
all.  If  you  offer  to  prejudice  this  sacrifice,  you,  by  your  actions, 
though,  perhaps,  not  in  words,  admit  the  justice  of  the  prejudice. 
When  you  offer  to  English  prejudice  part  of  the  discipline  of 
your  Church,  you  admit,  at  least  in  the  opinions  of  the  preju- 
diced, the  truth  of  their  suspicions  and  their  fear.  But  it  is  in 
the  nature  of  suspicion  and  fear  never  to  be  satisfied  ;  and  the 
first  sacrifice  will  justify  and  stimulate  them  to  demand  more. 

You  come  before  the  legislature,  admitting  the  propriety  o* 
their  taking  away  something  from  you  ;  and  they,  acting  upon 
your  admission,  will  be  ready  enough  to  take  away  all.  You 
cannot  bribe  their  prejudice  with  a  share  of  your  religion  :  it 
will  not — it  cannot — indeed,  it  ought  not  to  be  satisfied  \vi*-b 
the  part  you  offer.  But  thus,  admitted  by  yourself  into  your 
camp,  prejudice  would  not  be  consistent,  unless  it  insisted  upon 
converting  all  your  property  into  spoil,  and  rendering  itself  for 
ever  secure,  by  extinguishing  for  ever  its  enemy.  Away,  then, 
with  this  base  and  vile  traffic — this  bribing  of  a  prejudice,  which 
Mr.  Sheil  has  so  powerfully  proved  to  be  absurd.  Away  with 
this  bartering  with  absurd  prejudice — this  traffic  of  so  much  o* 
your  religion  for  so  much  of  their  privileges — this  exchange  of 
certain  lots  of  your  discipline  or  doctrine,  for  a  specific  quuitity 
of  emancipation.  Wo  never  can  succeed  in  this  peddling  an<J 
huxtering  speculation,.  They  are  ready  to  take  all  and  give  none. 
We  are  entitled  gratuitously  to  our  freedom,  or  rather  we  have 
already  purchased  it  by  our  allegiance,  our  treasure,  and  our 
young  blood.  W«  are  entitled  to  it  as  a  right.  Reason,  justice, 
and  nature  are  at  our  side.  Let  us  preserve  our  integrity  and 
our  honour,  as  well  as  our  religion  ;  and  be  emancipated  as  ou- 
forefathers  desired — as  Catholics,  or  not  at  all. 

I  now  come  to  the  discovery  which  my  talented  friend  ob- 
scurely intimated  that  he  has  made,  namely,  that  we,  agitators. 
have  retarded  the  progress  of  emancipation, 

I  have  heard  this  charge  made  repeatedly  out  of  this  Board  ; 
1  have  heard  it  said  that  by  onr  violence,  our  intemperance,  and 
what  not,  we  have  put  back  emancipation  for  fifty  years.  Against 
vhe.se  calumnies,  too,  J  p.ppeal  to  the  fact :  the  fact  furnishes  me 


356  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

with  an  answer — a  triumphant  answer — I  could  scarcely  desire 
any  reply  more  complete,  more  decisive. 

The  agitation  of  the  Catholic  question  commenced  in  1805 
and  nothing  could  be  weaker  or  of  less  effect  than  our  commence- 
ment. In  1807,  the  Grenville  administration  attempted  to  do 
something  for  us — they  attempted  to  pass  a  law  to  enable  Ca- 
tholics to  be  officers  in  England  as  they  are  in1  Ireland.  That 
was  all  they  could  attempt — but  did  they  succeed  ?  No  ;  the 
i.itempt  cost  them  their  places;  and  Mr.  Perceval,  seated  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  "  no-Popery"  mob,  was  borne  into  power  in  tri- 
umph ;  the  "  no-Popery"  cry  was  raised,  and  all  England  was 
8hook  from  the  centre  to  the  extremities.  The  war-whoop  of 
religious  bigotry  resounded  throughout  the  land,  and  in  the  pride 
and  folly  of  its  prejudices,  it  deemed  the  Catholic  claims  extin- 
guished for  ever. 

Well,  what  has  followed  ?  We  continued  our  agitation — our 
violence  as  it  has  been  called — our  intemperance.  We  passed 
our  strong,  our  "  witchery"  resolutions.  We  exposed  the  vices 
nnd  the  secret  motives  of  the  insolent  and  venal  beings  who  op- 
posed our  emancipation.  I  myself  was  in  the  habit  of  painting, 
in  their  native  colours,  the  creatures  who,  for  pay,  insulted  ray 
native  land,  a  practice  which  I  have  given  up  rather  from  lassi- 
tude and  disgust  than  from  any  opinion  of  its  being  injurious  to 
our  cause.  Amidst  all  this  violence  and  intemperance,  what  was 
the  consequence  ?  Why,  that  in  1813,  a  bill  was  near  to  pass, 
intending  and  purporting  to  give  us  all.  Our  enemies  them- 
selves consented  to  give  us  everything  except  seats  in  parliament. 
They  consented  to  give  us  situations  and  command  in  the  army 
and  navy,  places  at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench,  corporate  offices 
and  dignities,  places  in  the  excise  and  customs  ;  all,  all  except 
parliament— they  consented  to  all.  Mr.  Abbott,  our  leading  ad- 
versary, consented  to  everything  except  parliament. 

Now,  place  the  two  undoubted  and  indisputable  facts  together : 
in  1807  our  friends  could  not  procure  for  us  even  so  much  aa 
the  military  rank  in  England  ;  in  1813  our  enemies  offered  us> 
the  station  of  sheriffs,  mayors,  admirals,  generals,  judges  and 
chancellors.  Compare  the  two  periods— contrast  the  two  situa- 
tions; and  then  let  rne  see  the  man  who  will  say  that  the  Catho- 
lic cause  has  receded,  or  been  driven  back  during  that  period 
1  demand  of  the  candour  of  my  young  friend  to  admit  that  thft 
Catholic  cannehas  advanced  during  the  last  seven  years  of  agita- 
tion ;  I  do  rot  ask  of  him  the  sacrifice  of  admitting  that  it  has 
advanced  by  that  agitation  ;  bat  it  comforts  my  own  mind,  and 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  357 

rheers  my  secret  soul  to  s*/e  the  natural  effect  result  from  the 
plain,  manly,  uncompromising  course  we  have  steered. 

I  return  one  moment  to  English  prej  udice,  so  happily  described 
by  Mr.  Sheil ;  and  I  ask  him  whether  this  very  alteration  be* 
tween  the  opinions  of  the  English  in  1807  and  in  1813  does  not 
Drove  to  demonstration  that  prejudice  is  best  met  by  reason  and 
argument.  During  the  last  seven  years  we  made  no  degrading 
sacrifice  j  and  yet  the  repetition  of  our  arguments,  and  the  dis- 
play of  truth  have  advanced  our  cause.  Let  my  young  friend 
meditate  on  these  facts,  before  he  again  envelopes  in  poetry  the 
cause  of  despotism,  and  the  triumph  of  prejudice  ! 

My  lord,  1  have  combated  this  eloquence  advocating  the  in- 
fluence of  the  crown — I  have  ventured  to  oppose  it  supporting 
the  prejudices  of  England  ;  I  will  now  briefly  allude  to  another 
argument,  or  rather  assertion,  of  his  ;  he  says  the  present  reso- 
lution implies  a  censure  on  our  prelates  ! 

What,  my  lord,  can  it  be  censure  to  declare  that  we  are  so 
pleased  and  proud  of  our  prelates,  who  have  been  appointed 
without  any  interference  of  the  crown,  that  we  never  will  consent 
to  any  such  interference  1  The  Board  censure  the  bishops!  The 
Board,  my  Icrd,  has  always  expressed  its  respect,  its  veneration 
for  the  bishops.  Our  enemies,  indeed,  would  be  delighted,  if 
they  could  establish  any  division  between  the  Board  and  the 
Catholic  hierarchy.  But,  no ;  that  is  impossible.  Instead  of  the 
present  resolution  implying  censure,  it  directly  and  justly  speaks 
praise  and  approbation.  We  approve  and  applaud — and  it  would 
be  difficult,  indeed,  iiot  to  approve  and  applaud  our  prelates  as 
they  are.  We  seek  no  change — nor  will  we  consent  to  any 
change  that  would  be  likely  to  place  different  men  in  high  offices. 
The  prelates,  too,  I  may  venture  to  add,  approve  of  tho  course 
pursued  by  the  Board :  they  see,  they  easily  see  that  however 
anxious  we  are  for  freedom,  we  are  still  more  anxious  for  the  purity 
of  our  religion — they  know  that  though  we  are  desirous  not  to 
remain  slaves,  we  are  determined  to  continue  Catholics;  and 
that  ardently  as  we  love  liberty,  we  will  not  purchase  it  as  the 
price  of  sch'.sm. 

It  is,  therefore,  impossible,  to  separate  the  prelates  from  the 
Board,  or  the  Board  from  the  prelates.  We  interfere  only  upon 
subjects  belonging  to  our  province.  Any  connexion  between  the 
crown  and  the  Catholic  hierarchy  in  Ireland  must,  of  course,  be 
of  a  political  nature  ;  and  against  such,  we  have  a  right  to  pro 
test,  and  do  protest ;  but  if  the  revered  and  venerable  prelates  o1 
our  Church,  exercising  their  discretion  as  to  that  which  belong* 


358  SELECT  SPtTECrrKS  OP 

to  them  exclusively — the  details  of  discipline — shall  deem  it  right 
to  establish  a  system  of  domestic  nomination,  purely  and  ex- 
clusively Irish ;  if,  I  repeat,  our  prelates  deem  it  right  to  estab- 
lish a  system  of  domestic  nomination — of  a  nomination  purely 
find  exclusively  Irish;  if  our  prelates  deem  it  right,  in  their  wis- 
dom and  piety,  to  establish  any  such  arrangement,  the  Board, 
my  lord,  will  not  interfere  with  such  arrangement,  because  it  has 
no  right  whatsoever  to  interfere  with  it ;  but  it  will  certainly  ap- 
plaud and  grateful  .y  receive  any  such  decision. 

Before  I  conclude,  let  me  avow  the  pleasure  I  feel  that  my  reso- 
lution on  this  subject  was  negatived — not  because  I  think  it  was 
an  improper  resolution  in  the  sense  I  meant  it — but  because  it 
vas,  I  find,  so  capable  of  being  misunderstood,  1  never  com- 
plained of  its  being  rejected — all  I  complained  f-f  was,  that  it 
was  not  understood.  I  attributed  the  fault  to  ethers,  I  now  see 
it  was  my  own ;  for  the  sense  which  Mr.  Shell  has  put  on  that 
resolution  convinces  mo  that  there  was  an  ambiguity  in  it  which 
alone  merited  condemnation.  I  do,  therefore,  myself  condemn  it  as 
mischievous,  because  equivocal,  and  cheerfully  submit  myself  to 
the  censure  that  may  follow  the  man  who  uses,  on  a  delicate  sub- 
ject, ambiguous  language. 

This  great  question  is  now  fairly  before  the  Board.  We,  who 
support  the  resolution,  call  for  emancipation,  without  making 
(Air  bishops  the  slaves  or  the  instruments  of  the  ministry — and 
require  our  liberties,  to  which  we  are  entitled  as  our  birthright, 
without  any  sacrifice  of  the  doctrine  or  discipline  of  our  Church. 
We  humbly  petition  parliament  to  assure  us  freedom,  but  we  a«k 
it  as  Catholics — we  respectfully  require  of  them  liberty,  but  we 
wish  for  it  with  perfect  safety  to  our  religion.  .  We  have  gi/en 
them  the  security  of  our  allegiance — we  have  sealed  their  since- 
rity with  our  oaths,  and  confirmed  it  with  our  blood  ;  all  we  re- 
quire in  return  is  the  privilege  of  worshipping  God  as  our  fore- 
lathers  worshipped  him.  We  are  ready  to  ensure,  with  our 
dearest  interests,  the  integrity  of  the  state — all  we  ask  in  return 
w,  the  integrity  of  our  religion  ! 

Those  who  agree  with  me,  that  we  are  entitled  to  emancipation, 
without  compromise,  will  support  this  resolution ;  all  who  agree 
v.-itb  my  eloquent  friend,  that  our  emancipation  should  be  piir- 
ch&sed  by  some  undefined  concessions  of  doctrine,  or,  at  least,  of 
iiacipline,  to  absurd  prejudice — for  so  he  provod  it ;  *il  tLo«e 
r/ho  think  they  can  barg-aiu  with  absurd  prejudice,  upon  th* 
capital  of  their  faith,  will  reject  the  present  resolution  with  Mr. 
Sheil. 


DANIEL  OCOXN12LL,  ESQ., 

He  has,  indeed,  been  unfortunate  in  the  side  he  hr.s  wleoted ; 
he  has  not  been  lucky  in  his  allusion.  It  wag  not  the  Chtholio 
barons  of  the  reign  of  John  that  crouched  beneath  Papal  usur- 
pation. It  was  a  profligate,  faithless,  unprincipled  prince,  \vh<? 
used  the  Pope's  then  authority  to  enable  him  to  enslave  a  Catho- 
lic people. 

I  am  of  the  faith  of  the  Catholic  barons,  who  with  their  swords 
extorted  the  great  charter  of  liberty ;  I  am  of  the  religion  of  the 
Catholic  parliament  that  passed  the  statute  of  proviscrs ;  firm 
in  my  attachment  to  her  ancient  faith,  ardent  in  the  pursuit  Ox 
liberty.  Let  my  young  friend  join  this  standard,  and  soon  shall 
he  become  a  leader.  To  the  superiority  of  his  talent  we  shall  easily 
cheerfully  yield,  and  give  him  that  station  in  his  country's  cause 
to  which  his  high  genius  entitles  him.  Let  him  devote  himsel, 
to  the  uncompromising  advocacy  of  Ireland — glory  will  await  him, 
and  the  sweeter  satisfaction  of  serving  his  country !  Let  him 
reject  party  and  adopt  Ireland,  who,  in  her  widowhood,  wants 
him ;  and  in  her  service  let  his  motto  be — "  God,  and  our  native 
land." 

The  tone  of  tltc  meeting  was  taken  from  this  speech,  and  Dr  Dromcooie's  motion  car- 
ried with  Acclamation. 


MR.  FINLAY'S  ADDRESS. 

ON  the  llth  December  a  meeting  of  the  Board  occurred,  at  which.  In  Mr.  O'Ccnr.elr* 
absence  of  course,  a  splendid  tribute  of  Catholic  feeling  was  paid  to  him  for  his  exertions 
in  the  Catholic  and  national  canse.  The  tribute  was  not  confined  to  words,  warm  and 
kindly  even  to  enthusiasm  as  they  were ;  but  a  service  of  plate  was  voted,  and  shortly 
afterwards  given  to  him,  under  the  following  resolution,  moved  in  a  most  kind  speech  by 
Nicholas  Purcell  O'Gorman,  Esq.,  the  present  assistant-barrister  for  the  county  of  Kilkenny 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  General  Board  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland, 
held  at  the  Shakespeare  Gallery,  Exchequer-street,  Dublin,  on  Satur 
day,  the  llth  December,  1813 — Owen  O'Conor,  Esq.,  in  the  Chair 

"  Resolved — That  a  service  of  plate,  value  one  thousand  guineas,  bo 
presented  to  Daniel  O'Conuell,  Esq.,  on  the  part  of  the  Catholic  peo- 
ple of  Ireland,  as  a  small  tribute  of  their  gratitude  for  the  unshaken 
intrepidity,  matchless  ability,  and  unwearied  perseverance,  with  which 
•n  despite  of  power  and  intolerance,  he  has  uniformly  asserted  fi% 
rights,  and  vindicated  the  calumniated  character  of  his  Catholic  fellow 
countrymen. 

"  That  the  following  noblemen  and  gentlemen  do  compose  a  con> 
tuittee  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  above  resolution  into  eflect,  viz. 
the  Viscount  Netterville,  the  Lord  Ffrench,  Nicholas  Purcell  O'G«r- 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

man,  Owen  O'Conor,  George  Bryan,  Henry  Edmond  Taaffe, 
Mahon,  Randal  M'Donnell,  Esqrs. 

"  OWEN  O'CoNOR,  Chairman. 

"  EDWARD  HAY,  Secretary." 

""here  was  one  speech  made  upon  this  occasion,  which,  although  «t  cannot  ruhily  be  con- 
liojred  as  coming  wtthin  the  scope  of  the  present  collection,  we  cannot  forbear  to  give. 
It  M-as  that  of  an  old,  fast  friend  of  Daniel  O'Connell's—  a  man  most  estimable  in  every 
relation  of  life,  and  one  who  is  yet  living,  and  likely  to  live  many  a  day  yet,  encircled  a* 
lie  deserves  by  "  a  troop  of  friends."    We  speak  of  Mr.  Finlay,  or,  as  he  is  best  known,  of 
honest  John  Finlay-  true  and  honest  in  the  worst  of  times,  when  there  was  every  tempta 
lion  for  a  young  struggling  barrister  of  the  dominant  persuasion  (Mr.  Finlay  is  a  Protes 
lint)  to  ally  himself  with  the  oppressors  of  the  people  and  the  assailants  of  their  advocates 

Between  him  and  Daniel  O'Connell  there  was  ever  an  old  and  warm  friendship.    A  con 
"eniality  of  mind  first  produced  it,  and  closer  acquaintance  fast  ripened  it  into  the  warm 
rst  and  most  enduring  vigour.    Most  truly  indeed  may  it  be  said  that  no  sincerer  friend 
Mr.  O'Connell  ever  had ;  and  none  did  be  more  sincerely  recognize  and  endeavour  to  repay 
the  attachment 

Mr.  Finlay's  speech  bears  strong  evidence  of  t/iat  talent  and  power  of  intellect  which,  if 
nature  had  given  him  the  same  taste  for  the  agitator's  life  of  unceasing  activity  and  ton 
that  animated  his  friend,  would  have  rendered  him  "•facile,  princtpt"  at  least  of  far  the 
greater  number  of  those  who  have  been  prominent  in  the  struggle  for  Irish  righto. 

Ihe  following  wad  his  address  on  this  occasion : — 

"  When  a  man  steps  forth  from  the  ranks  of  tranquil  life,  and  devotea 
his  time  to  public  interests,  he  avows  that  he  employs  him-clf  in  that 
which  is  equally  the  business  of  all.  Thus  the  public,  in  whose  service 
he  starts  a  volunteer,  are  placed  in  censorship  over  his  words  and  actions ; 
and  the  members  of  the  community  protect  themselves  from  self-re- 
proach of  civic  inexertion,  by  scrutinizing  his  motives  with  all  possible 
doubt,  and  accounting  for  his  acts  with  the  least  possible  charity. 

"  This  caution,  though  sometimes  unfair,  is  seldom  unreasonable ;  it  is 
frequently  justified  by  the  event,  and  always  allowable,  under  the  prin- 
ciple that  no  class  of  men  should  be  more  suspected  than  patriots,  be- 
cause no  class  has  produced  more  impostors. 

"But  this  suspicion,  like  everything  else,  should  have  its  limits  ;  and 
there  is  a  length  of  time — a  quantity  of  fidelity  beyond  which  jealousy 
or  suspicion  cannot  exist  without  injustice  to  its  object.  Time  is  the 
ordeal  of  patriotism.  To  preserve  a  patriot's  purity,  it  is  not  expected 
that  he  should  be  always  right,  because  he  cannot  be  always  wise ;  but 
it  is  necessary  that  his  acts  should  be  always  well-intended,  because  he 
may  be  always  honest. 

"  Therefore  when  time  has  assayed  and  established  the  fairness,  not 
;f  liis  acts,  but  of  his  intentions,  his  exertions,  his  talents,  and  his  pur- 
pose, it  then  becomes  the  duty  of  the  people  to  repay,  by  an  increased 
portion  of  their  gratitude,  for  those  doubts  which  their  caution  com- 
pelled them  to  entertain. 

"  Ten  years  have  tried  the  fidelity  of  O'Connell ;  and  you  stand  now 
indebted  to  him  in  the  article  of  gratitude,  not  only  for  the  quantity  of 
service  conferred,  but  the  time  during  which  the  trial  has  been  pro- 
tracted, and  the  exprpsRion  of  y-ur  collective  jcratitude  deferred. 

*•  Tliis  line  of  rw«ct!in£  rppkYi  to  «-ven  fi-»e  tout  try.  but  it  »im>li«v* 


D.-vNIEL  OCONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  6L 

in  a  more  particular  manner  to  Ireland.  In  Ireland  there  is  one  simple 
division  of  its  inhabitants — Catholic  and  Protostant ;  religion,  in  truth, 
makes  no  part  in  the  political  results  which  flow  from  this  distinction 
Protestant  is  another  word  for  the  possessor  or  expectant  of  place  ;  Ca- 
tholic, another  word  designating  whom  the  law  excludes.  Thus  power, 
place,  patronage,  and  a  large  portion  of  franchise  being,  in  fact,  denied 
to  the  great  majority,  and  confined  to  a  few,  they  become  real  property 
in  the  hands  of  their  possessors;  and,  unless  their  possessors  be  endowe^ 
with  no  common  portion  of  disinterestedness,  they  have  every  motive 
derivable  from  self  to  examine  with  severity,  and  interpret  without 
charity,  the  motives  and  conduct  of  those  men  who  would  destroy  that 
property,  by  the  generality  of  its  diffusion. 

"  Therefore,  the  advocate  of  Catholic  emancipation  appears  in  greater 
or  less  degree  of  hostility  to  every  Protestant  in  this  country  who  had 
not  the  virtue  to  dismiss  the  calculations  of  self ;  therefore,  the  advocato 
most  efficient,  prominent,  and  persevering  presents  an  aspect  of  political 
hostility,  varying  its  phases  exactly  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  self- 
love  which  sways  the  motives  of  those  Protestants  to  whom  he  is  an 
object  of  observation ;  and  for  this  reason  Daniel  O'Connell  is  hated  by 
so.me,  disliked  by  many,  and  cannot,  in  the  nature  of  things,  depend 
for  approbation  on  any  Protestant  not  purely  disinterested  ;  therefore, 
he  must  suffer  from  calumny  exactly  as  long  as  you  must  suffer  from 
injustice,  and  the  amount  of  injury  in  this  way  inflicted  is  the  exact 
measure  of  reparation  which  mere  justice  should  prompt  you  to  com- 
pensate. 

"  The  permanency  of  his  country's  affection  is  the  only  species  of  re- 
muneration to  which  he  ever  looked  forward.  The  vulgar  value  of  the 
certifying  instrument  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  him,  and  should  not 
be  s  subject  of  deliberating  economy  with  you. 

"  "  Such  are  the  disadvantages,  moral  and  political,  which,  for  a  time, 
must  always  operate  to  obstruct  the  actions  and  obscure  the  motives  ot 
aim  who  struggles  for  the  public  good.  The  moral  disadvantage  ap- 
plies to  all  countries ;  but  the  moral  and  political  unite  in  Ireland. 

"  There  is  a  third  disadvantage,  if  the  patrioc  be  a  lawyer,  which  I 
shall  call  a  professional  disadvantage.  The  bar  is  an  educated,  enlight- 
ened community.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  the  pursuit  of  the  law  ex- 
ercises, in  its  study,  the  noblest  faculties  of  the  mind,  and  engages,  in  its 
practice,  the  cardinal  virtues  of  the  heart.  Ambition  is  a  passion  suit- 
able, perhaps  esse  itial,  to  a  barrister ;  but,  in  the  mind  of  all  who  art) 
not  great  or  good,  envy  is  the  inseparable  handmaid  of  ambition.  In 
the  barrister's  career  to  professional  success,  the  course  is  so  narrow, 
the  competition  so  violent,  and  the  prize  so  important,  that  all  praise  is 
rigorously  denied  except  wtien  extorted  by  unquestionable  desert.  Thus, 
then,  where  a  man  happens  to  unite  the  characters  of  a  patriot,  an  Irish- 
man, and  a  barrister,  there  is  a  threefold  censorship  imposed  o'er  hij 
conduct,  which  nothing  but  eminent  virtue  can  sustain,  and  which, 
•ustsiined,  cannot  well  bo  over-rated. 

"  EMINENT  AND  PROMINENT  IN  THESE  THREE  RELATIONS,  history 
viU  de^iribc  DANIEL  O'CONNELL  spotless  in  the  t  elations 

2  A 


362  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


life,  matcldtxa  tn  the  duti^  uf  private  friendship,  beloved  by  every  man 
who  knows  him,  esteemed  by  all  who  have  not  a  prejudice  or  an  interest 
in  disliking  him  ;  vith  manners  that  instantly  disarm  hostility,  there 
never  yet  was  a  man  introduced  to  him  for  the  Jirst  time,  under  pre- 
possessions to  \is  disadvantage,  that  did  notjeel  his  dislikes  hastily  eva- 
j/oratiny.  and  depart  from  t/ie  conference  a  convert  to  esteem  ! 

**  At  five  in  the  morning  you  will  find  him  in  his  study  ;  at  five  in 
the  evening  you  will  probably  tind  him  still  labouring  in  the  public 
*ervice  ;  if  you  cannot  tind  him  thus  employed,  you  may  be  almost 
Certain  of  finding  him  at  home.  I  never  knew  any  man  of  equal  in- 
uusiry  ;  I  never  thought  that  any  man  could  be  so  industrious.  No 
man  at  the  bar  labours  more  in  his  profession,  and  no  man  at  the  Board 
labours  so  much  in  politics  ;  but  to  labour  30  much,  and  to  labour  .vo 
well,  far  exceeds  the  common  notions  of  human  capability. 

"  Social  and  sober  —  polite  and  unceremonious—  cheerful,  affable,  can- 
did, and  sincere  —  proud  with  the  haughty,  and  meek  with  the  humble; 
his  frown  rebukes  arrogance  to  inferiority,  and  his  smile  lifts  humility 
to  his  own  level.  His  virtues  cannot  be  indifferent  to  you  ;  they  should 
\e  objects  of  your  care,  for  tliey  have  been  agents  of  your  interest. 

-  Such  a  man,  in  difficult  times,  volunteered  as  the  advocate  of  presi 
and  people.  The  apathy  that  followed  the  measure  of  the  Union  had 
depressed  the  nation  to  political  indifference.  Lord  Clare  had  declared, 
in  the  British  House  of  Peers,  that  the  Catholic  people  felt  uninterested 
in  the  question  of  emancipation.  It  became  necessary  to  correct  the 
error  or  the  fact.  The  two  great  pillars  on  which  emancipation  could 
be  raised  were,  the  exercise  of  a  free  press,  and  the  exercise  of  the 
.jut  or'  petition.  O'Connell  started  the  advocate  of  both  ;  and  here 
commenced  the  political  hostility  between  the  interested  advocate  for 
the  governor,  and  the  disinterested  advocate  for  the  governed  ;  that  is, 
between  Mr.  SSaurin  and  Mr.  O'Connell. 

••  Those  two  pillars  of  emancipation  were  assaulted  alternately  by  the 
Attorney-General.  A  new  and  severe  tax  was  imposed  on  the  press,  in 
the  expectation  that  men  would  be  discouraged  from  embarking  their 
property  in  a  speculation  in  an  enterprise  so  unprofitable  as  an  inde- 
pendent journal.  The  experiment  failed  ;  the  press  was  not  weakened 
—it  was  strengthened  ;  and  those  who  had  been  the  friends  became  the 
enemies  of  the  Irish  government. 

••  This  attempt  against  the  Press  was  made  during  the  ministry  of 
Mr.  Foster  ;  the  next  attempt  was  against  the  people,  and  made  in  the 
ministry  of  Mr.  Pole.  A  proclamation  was  issued  against  the  manner 
in  which  the  people  exercised  the  right  of  petition.  A  circular  was 
ksued,  which  every  magistrate  in  Ireland  felt  it  his  duty  to  disobey. 
It  appears  by  the  declaration  of  Mr.  Pole,  that  this  circular  was  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  Saurin.  It  appears,  by  the  highest  law  authorities 
u  England,  that  it  was  a  composition  of  which  a  lawyer  should  be 
ushium-  1.  Ex-ofjicio  informations  were  poured  in  abundance  against 
the  Ciit.iolic  peers  and  gentlemen  who  presided  at  the  Catholic  meet- 
ings.  Thf  convention  act,  enacted  many  years  before,  was  called  into 
Oil  ion  against  tlic  people. 


DASIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  363 

"The  r.ext  attempt  was  against  the  Press.  The  Press  was  attached 
fcy  every  mode  of  attachment,  information,  and  indictment.  The  most 
objectionable  mode  was  first  resorted  to — attachment.  The  cry  became 
.oud  ;  and  the  less  objectionable  mode  of  information  was  next  resorted 
o  ;  and  as  the  cry  became  louder  still,  this  usual  and  more  constitu- 
jonal  mode  of  indictment  was  finally  fixed  upon. 

•'  Mr.  Saurin,  ambitious  of  a  character  for  lenity,  has  lately  declared, 
Ln  his  motion  for  an  aggravation  of  punishment,  that  he  had  not  prose- 
cuted more  than  three.  Of  his  Majesty's  Attorney-General  I  should 
not  wish  to  rpeak  without  deliberation.  It  might  be  unbecoming — it 
might  be  unsafe.  I  am  not  inclined  to  speak  disrespectfully,  or  other- 
wise. I  must  not,  in  politeness  or  in  prudence,  contradict ;  but  when 
he  states  as  a  fact,  that  of  the  Press  he  never  yet  prosecuted  but  three, 
I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  without  offence,  that  this  is  an  assertion 
rhich,  consistently  with  a  gpod  conscience,  I  dare  not  to  affirm. 

"  It  is  certainly  true  that  he  did  prosecute  the  Irish  Magazine  for 
the  article  called  'The  Painter  Cut;'  secondly,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  for  the 
Statement  of  the  Penal  Laws  ;'  and,  thirdly,  Mr.  Mugee,  for  the  arti- 
cle against  the  Duke  of  Richmond :  these  are  three.  But  it  is  equally 
true  that  he  did  prosecute  the  proprietor  of  the  Freeman's  Journal,  by 
that  most  objectionable  mode  of  prosecution,  ar  attachment,  and  thai 
be  did  obtain  that  attachment ;  and  that  Mr.  Hai  vey,  under  the  appre 
nenaion  of  its  execution,  was  for  a  year  confined  to  his  own  house,  i 
••AH  &ay  this  is  true,  for  I  was  present  at  these  motions.  This  reckon* 
•Wr. 

"  It  is  equaDy  true  that  he  moved  for  another  attachment  against  eack 
nf  two  proprietors  of  the  Evening  Herald,  and  although  the  Court  of 
ixing's  Bench  unanimously  pronounced  the  libel  to  be  NONSENSE,  they 
however,  granted  him  the  attachment,  with  their  opinion  that  he  ought 
r.ot  to  execute  it.  This  I  know,  for  I  was  counsel  in  the  cause.  Then 
reckoning  this  prosecution  against  two  as  but  one  prosecution,  I  say  this 
makesjfce  prosecutions. 

**  It  is  equally  true  that  he  at  the  same  time  filed  an  ex-ojfficio  against 
the  Herald.  This  I  know,  for  I  was  counsel  in  the  cause.  This  reck- 
ons six.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  he  also  issued  ex-ojficio  informations 
against  the  Correspondent  and  Freeman.  These  make  eight.  He  also 
issued,  of  late,  two  ex-ojfficio  informations  against  two  Kilkenny  papers 
for  publishing  the  resolutions  of  public  bodies.  These  make  ten.  He 
says  three — I  say  ten.  Does  he  mean  to  say  that  he  only  prosecuted 
three  to  conviction  f  The  fewer  he  prosecuted  to  conviction  compared 
with  the  number  that  he  did  prosecute,  shows  his  want  of  ability  rather 
than  of  will,  and  gives  no  claim  to  the  character  of  lenity ;  but  even 
reckoning  those  that  be  prosecuted  to  conviction,  he  does  not  reckon 
fairly.  He  only  reckons,  even  in  this  sense  of  prosecuting,  Cox  for  one. 
I  say  he  prosecuted  Cox  for  THREE,  and  obtained  conviction  for  TWO 
Thus,  taking  prosecutions  for  CONVICTIONS,  he  is  not  right,  and  taking 
prosecutions  in  its  proper  sense,  he  should  hav«  said  TWELVE  instead 
of  THREE. 

"  lu  addition  u>  thia     azo  informed  tl>at  lie  issued  ex-.jhcw  inform*- 


-T*  SBJLECT  SPEECHES  OP 

lions  agalast  uhaoet  all  of  the  publishers  of  Dublin,  at?  me  sm^ect  M 
the  «  Stntecjent  of  the  Pcn»l  Laws.'  Then  where  is  the  ground  of  his 
ooast  of  lenity?  Filially,  the  Irish  Attorney-General,  after  bavin  jr  pro- 
duced one  sleeping-  statute  against  the  Press,  brought  forth  another 
against  the  people — the  Convention  Act  against  the  people — the  Stani| 
Act  against  the  Press — both  enacted  in  bad  times  :  neither  of  them 
were  enacted  in  England — neither  of  them  before  n?ed  in  Ireland. 
The  operation  of  this  Stamp  Act  was  to  extinguish  the  property  itself, 
or  at  least  wrest  it  from  the  owner's  hand.  Mr.  Magee  was  obliged 
to  part  with  his  property  ;  but  though  an  unprecedented  act  of  power 
tore  his  property  from  him,  he  took  care  that  it  should  not  be  torn  from 
the  service  of  the  country. 

"  Mr.  Saurin  having  so  far  succeeded,  by  every  usual  and  unusual 
mode  of  prosecution  against  Press  and  people,  finally  attacked  the  advo- 
cate of  both.  His  speech  for  his  client  was  the  ground  of  complaint 
An  attempt  was  made,  by  the  partizans  of  power,  to  injure  his  profes- 
sional character,  by  insinuating  that  he  had  injured  his  client  by  his 
defence ;  and  the  unbecoming  rumour  was  soread  abroad,  that  the  man- 
ner of  the  counsel  should  be  the  measure  of  mercy — that  had  Mr. 
O'Connell  been  more  merciful  to  Mr.  Saurin,  Mr.  Saurin  would  have 
been  more  merciful  to  Mr.  Magee ;  but  this  insinuation  lost  its  force 
— it  was  very  well  known  to  every  one,  and  to  no  one  better  than  to 
Mr.  Magee,  that  tenderness  was  not  among  the  weaknesses  of  his  pro- 
secutor. 

"•  The  object  of  the  motion  in  aggravation  was,  in  truth,  to  punish 
the  advocate  for  the  defence.  Mr.  Saurin  insinuated  ulterior  proceed- 
ings, and  the  benchers  were  sounded  on  the  subject  of  stripping  the 
advocate  of  his  gown  !  Many  severe  philippics  bad  been  pronounced 
it  the  bar  before.  Such  a  measure  was  never  attempted  Lord  Clare 
nas  been  compelled  to  look  at  a  portraiture  of  hio  own  vices,  presented 
co  his  eye  by  an  immortal  advocate,  but  he  never  dreamt  of  punishing 
the  advocate  by  law.  He  has  spoken  in  the  severest  terms  in  the  House 
,>f  Lords  respecting  the  pTiilipnic  on  the  trial  of  Finner*y  ;  but  he  never 
thought  of  any  proceeding  Oi  this  description.  The  Solicitor-General 
admitted  it  was  a  most  extraordinary  proceeding ;  and  his  apology  for 
this  most  extraordinary  proceeding  was,  that  it  was  an  extraordinary 
speech  :  but  what  was  the  amount  of  blame  imputable  to  the  speech  ? 
I  omit  the  appeal  to  the  passions  of  the  Chief- Justice — an  appeal  which 
m  decency  should  not  have  been  made,  and  which  never  could  be  made 
with  decency.  This  being  omitted,  what  is  the  amount  ?  The  compo- 
sition of  that  jury,  and  the  distribution  of  justice  in  this  country.  As 
to  the  distribution  of  justice,  I  shall  be  very  cautious  in  speaking  on 
'hat  subject:  it  appears  to  give  particular  offence.  I  do  not  wish  to 
.ose  my  gown  :  I  cannot  afford  it  as  well  as  O'Connell :  but  I  hope  I 
may  say  this  much  without  losing  my  gown — that  a  considerable  pre- 
judice exists  on  the  subject. 

."  I  lately  heard  a  peasant  say — *  Oh*  Sir,  it  requires  a  great  deal  of 
INTEREST  in  this  country  for  a  poor  man  to  get  a  LITTLE  JI:STICE  !' 
L'iiia  prejudice  is  verv  widely  spread  I  ^  not  boast  of  a  parliculaz 


DANIEL  O'CONNKLL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  365 

of  mind,  and,  therefore,  plead  guilty  to  the  infirmity  of  being 
occasionally  affected  by  this  prejudice  myself. 

"  As  to  the  business  of 'selected  juries,  the  fact  cannot  be  denied,  that 
the  religion  of  a  Catholic  operates  as  a  challenge  to  exclude  him  from 
juries  in  every  criminal  case  of  importance.  The  juries,  without  one 
exception,  have  had  no  Catholic  in  any  crown  prosecution  in  which  the 
Attorney- General  has  been  engaged.  These  two  topics  were  the  objec- 
tionable parts,  for  I  cannot  suppose  that  extracts  from  history  constitute 
crime.  The.se  two  topics  were  the  ground  of  offence ;  so  that,  in  future, 
it  will  be  safe,  perhaps  necessary,  to  believe  that  the  juries  are  selected 
equally  and  indiscriminately,  and  that  every  judge  and  every  juror  is 
b« 


cuser 
have 

have  a  greater  right  to  be  angry  with  their  panegyrist,'  said  Mr.  Bushe 
God  help  us !  How  are  we  to  speak  of  them  ?  Act  upon  both  opi- 
nions :  say  nothing  at  all  upon  the  subject. 

"  I  lament  that  this  discussion  has  arisen  here  ;  for  notwithstanding 
Mr.  Saurin's  reliance  on  the  respectable  Catholics,  I  don't  see  any  Ca- 
tholic, respectable  or  otherwise,  who  appears  here  disposed  to  defend 
him,  although  some  are  of  opinion  thafi  he  requires  some  defence. 
•Therefore  I  am  sorry  that  his  conduct  is  discussed,  but  he  challenges 
you  to  it.  He  sent  you  an  issue,  and  it  becomes  necessary  for  you  to 
return  him  his  verdict.  Why  should  he  rely  on  the  Catholics  ?  Hf 
has  used  against  the  press  and  the  people  every  species  of  prosecution 
legal  and  severe,  common  and  uncommon.  He  has  brought  forth  tw« 
statutes — one  against  the  press,  the  other  against  petition — both  unused 
before — both  strangers  to  the  law  of  England  ;  he  has  issued  circulars 
and  summonses  to  his  own  house,  both  rebuked  by  high  law  authorities 
in  England,  and  he  is  the  first  Attorney-General  who  ever  made  a  mo- 
tion in  aggravation  in  Ireland.  Was  it  just  that  his  Stamp  Act  should 
tear  from  John  Magee  the  property  of  a  paper  which  he  had  convictedr 
— and  if  it  was,  is  it  just  that  it  should  also  deprive  him -of  the  property 
of  another  paper,  which  was  not  convicted?  Are  these  the  grounds  of 
his  reliance  ?  Why,  then,  he  rests  upon  a  broken  reed. 

"  As  he  asks,  give  him  a  verdict,  and  express  your  condemnation  of 
his  conduct,  by  the  honours  which  you  pay  to  the  object  of  his  persecu- 
tion. 

"  It  is  your  duty  to  hold  iup  O'CONNELL.  It  has  been  said  with  some 
truth  that  no  man  ever  yet  yoked  his  fortunes  to  the  fate  of  Ireland, 
who  was  not  ruined  by  the  connexion.  The  Catholic  cause  is  of  con- 
siderable weight,  but  it  is  said  its  weight  has  often  operated  rather  to 
sink  than  float  its  adherents.  Contradict  those  imputations.  Give  me 
uow,  in  the  instance  of  O'Connell,  a  practical  proof  that  this  rumour  is 
untrue,  and  in  doing  so  I  make  not  this  an  occasion  to  express  your  re- 
spect for  the  virtue  of  economy ;  parsimony  at  best  is  amongst  the 
minor  virtues  ;  it  is  a  personal  attribute,  it  should  make  no  part  of  a 
people's  character  when  developing  their  affections  to  a  great  man  for 
«$re^t  services  in  a  great  cause  If  you  do  exercise  it  upou  this  occ:i 


4  SELECT  SPEECBES  OF 

nion.  it  maj  be  said  in  fact,  as  it  must  be  said  in  law,  you  do  not  r*»pre- 
**ent  the  benevolent  purposes  of  ray  generous  countrymen. 

•*  Power  lias  attempted  to  put  down  O'Connell ;  it  is  the  people's  in- 
terest to  hold  him  up.  What  would  you  do  without  him  ?  Wlio  woula 
you  get  like  him  9 

"  lu  his  political  and  forensic  capacities,  his  enemies  allow  he  pog- 
tesses  two  qualities  always  essential,  not  always  combined — an  intrepid 
Advocate,  an  HONEST  Patriot,  a  clear  head,  an  honest  heart,  and  a 
manly  purpose,  are  seldom  united — are  united  in  him,  and  necessary 
for  you.  He  resembles  Mr.  Whitbread  in  that  every-day  working  talent, 
which  does  the  business  of  practical  usefulness,  and  which  in  both,  cu- 
rious to  say,  is  compatible  with  eminence  of  talent — a  sort  of  talent 
that  does  not  work  itself  down — that,  like  the  memory,  gathers  vigour 
from  its  toil— and,  liice  the  Bridge  of  Caesar,  acquires  strength  and  soli- 
dity from  the  very  weight  of  its  burden.  Therefore  Whitbread,  in 
real  usefulness,  is  worth  half  of  the  opposition — he  is,  in  fact,  an  oppo- 
sition in  himself;  and  so  it  is  with  O'Cannell. 

•'  Compared  with  such  a  man,  what  are  the  dozens  of  periodic  orators 
who,  like  myself,  occasionally  come  forth  with  a  holiday  speech,  decked 
in  the  finest  trappings  of  our  eloquence.  Give  me  the  man  who  is  not 
ifraid  to  lose  character  by  every-day  work — who  will  speak  well  to-day 
and  ill  to-morrow.  Every  man  who  speaks  often,  must  sometimes 
speak  ill.  Health,  indisposition,  constitution,  fits  of  dulness,  many 
things  may  cause  it ;  but  give  me  the  man  who  will  not  avoid  speaking 
when  necessary,  because  lie  may  speak  with  less  effect ;  who  will  not 
deem  it  necessary  to  let  the  soil  lie  fallow  in  order  to  give  value  to  the 
future  production  ;  who  in  truth  is  more  anxious  for  the  public  service 
than  his  own  fame,  and  who,  in  public  attention,  rests  upon  facts  and 
not  upon  phrases ! 

"  This  power  of  continual  exertion  falls  to  the  lot  of  very  few  ;  for 
my  own  part,  in  my  humble  exertions,  I  have  found  occasional  periodic 
exertion  more  than  enough ;  and  I  have  often  been  surprised  and  asto- 
nished at  the  powers  of  uninterrupted  and  successful  exertion  which 
exist  in  Whitbread  and  O' Council,  and  do  not  at  all  exist  in  the  same 
degree  in  two  other  men  in  these  countries. 

"  These  talents  are  now  yours ;  you  should  prize  the  highly  gifted 
konest  owner,  lighting  the  battles  of  his  country,  he  stands  exposed  to 
llie  shafts  of  angry  power.  Let  Hiberuia,  in  whose  cause  lie  acts  and 
suffers,  cover  her  patriot  with  her  ample  shield — 

" '  Let  him  but  stand  in  spit*  of  power, 
A  watchman  on  the  lonely  tower 
His  thrilling  trump  will  rouse  the  land. 
When  fraud  or  danger  is  at  hand 
By  him,  as  by  the  beacon  light, 
The  pilot  must  keep  course  aright.' 

««  But  if  he,  like  many  others,  should  be  fated  to  endure  the  ingrati- 
tude of  the  country — if  he  should  be  placed  in  the  mklst  of  useless 
friends  and  implacable  enemies — if  his  enemies  should  gratify  their 
l»urpose  against  bin. — 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P  367 

* '  Then  i«  the  stately  column  broke, 

The  beacon-light  is  quenched  in  smoke, 
The  trumpet's  silver  sound  is  still. 
The  warden  silent  on  the  hill !' " 

?U«  passage  vtth  its  poetic  quotations,  was  cited  last  in  the  declining  days  of  the  Repeal 
Association,  some  months  after  Daniel  (/Conner's  death,  by  poor— poor— "  Tom  Steele  I* 
The  effect  was  then  most  thrilling ;  what  tfie  effect  would  be  if  now  cited  in  a  popul.t 
assembly,  and  whether  the  prediction  it  embodies  would  be  held  to  have  come  true,  it  is 
not  for  the  editor  of  these  speeches  to  say. 

Mr.  O'Connell's  acknowledgment  of  the  great  compliment  paid  him  at  the  meeting  of 
the. Catholic  Board,  last  mentioned,  was  made  on  the  succeeding  Saturday,  18th  December, 
1813,  at  their  next  meeting— Owen  O'Conor,  Esq.,  again  in  the  chair. 

To  you  personally,  Sir  (said  Mr.  O'Connell  to  the  chairman), 
I  trust  I  need  not  apologize  for  not  having  answered  your  com- 
munication. I  have  the  honour  of  calling  you  my  friend  ;  am 
I  hope  the  high  value  which  you  know  I  entertain  for  your  pub- 
lic and  private  worth,  will  convince  you  that  I  could  not  have 
intended  anything  disrespectful  to  you  personally,  by  not  ac- 
knowledging your  letter. 

With  respect  to  the  public,  my  reason  for  not  answering  the 
communication  is  either  the  best  or  the  worst  in  the  world.  Ic 
is  literally  this — I  was  unable  to  do  it !  I  did  frequently  attempt 
to  commit  to  paper  the  expression  of  my  feelkigs,  but  my  powers 
of  language  sunk  beneath  the  effort.  I  was  utterly  unacquainted 
with  any  form  of  words  that  could  give  utterance  to  the  sensa- 
tion which  throbbed  at  my  heart.  I  could  guess  at  no  terma 
which  could  even  impart  an  idea  of  the  gratitude  which  swelled 
in  my  bosom  for  so  unmerited  an  honour,  conferred  by  such  a 
people,  and  on  so  humble  an  individual 

The  feelings  to  which  this  unexampled  kindness  gave  rise, 
were  not  to  be  expressed  in  any  form  of  words.  My  gratitude  is 
too  big  for  language,  and  I  leave  it  to  kindred  spirits  to  recognizu 
and  appreciate  sentiments  too  ecstatic  and  too  refined  for  ul* 
terance. 

But  should  I  not  have  seized  this  opportunity  to  make  pro 
fessions  of  attachment,  of  zeal,  of  affection  for  the  ill-starred  lam 
of  my  birth  1     Should  I  not  endeavour  to  repay  your  exceeding 
kindness,  by  deelaring  that  your  approbation  would  increase  that 
attachment — enliven  that  zeal,  animate  that  affection  ?    No,  Sir, 
1  will  not  make  any  such  profession.     They  would  be  untrue, 
and   I    scorn   them.    No,   Sir,   even   your   applause — and  who 
can  describe  how  much  I  value  your  applause — even  your  ap- 
plause will  not,  because  it  cannot,  increase  the  devotion  with 
which  I  have  consecrated  my  existence  to    Ireland.     I   have  a  I- 


368  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

ready  devoted  all  the  faculties  of  my  soul  t<  the  pursuit  of  thr 
liberties  of  my  country;  and  humble  as  my  capabilities*  are,  i 
had  already  given  them  all  to  my  native  land. 

Alas !  the  gift  was  small,  but,  it  included  certainly  purity  01 
design,  sincerity  of  intention,  perseverance  of  exertion,  contempt 
of  personal  danger,  neglect  of  personal  advantage,  and  finally, 
incorruptible  integrity  and  truth. 

You  cannot  increase  my  zeal — nay  devotion,  but  you  have  re- 
compensed them  beyond  measure,  and  beyond  reason.  1  have 
been  unable  to  serve  my  country — I  am  a  zealous  but  a  useleat 
servant ;  and  you  have  thrown  away  upon  mere  zeal  that  high 
recompense  of  your  approbation  which  ought  to  be  reserved  for 
actual  services.  However  flattering  to  myself,  still  I  cannot  but 
blame  the  prodigality  of  your  kindness.  1  know  I  owe  mud; 
oi  it  to  private  friendship,  and  1  avow  I  have  been  delighted  and 
gratified  beyond  measure  by  the  proofs  of  friendship  which  your 
resolution  has  been  the  means  of  calling  forth.  It  has  satisfied 
me  that  I  may  rank  amongst  my  friends  those  persons  whose 
virtues  and  patriotism  must  render  their  favourable  opinion  au 
( bject  of  the  highest  consideration  to  every  man,  and  whose 
friendship  must  reflect  honour  upon  any  individual  whom  they 
shall  distinguish  by  it ! 

I  am  glad  that  it  was  introduced,  because  it  elicited  those 
proofs  of  friendship ;  and  I  am  grateful  to  my  enemies,  who  gave 
occasion  for  an  exhibition  of  the  feeling  which  was  that  day  wit- 
nessed here.  I  am  glad  that  the  enemies  of  my  country,  whw 
i\re  my  enemies  because  they  are  hers,  have  so  completely  ideii- 
>  fied  me  with  the  Catholic  cause,  and  have  proved  that  they  at- 
*-ack  me  only  when  they  commit  still  greater  attacks  upon  Ireland. 

But  there  is  another  and  a  higher  consideration — a  considera- 
tion which  gives  me  pure  and  unmixed  pleasure — it  is  that  af- 
brded  by  the  stimulus  you  hold  out  to  the  patriotism  of  others, 
when  you  bestow  honours  thus  liberally  upon  plain  and  unser- 
viceable honesty.  The  man  who  dedicates  himself  to  the  cause 
v>f  his  country  must  calculate  on  meeting  the  hostility  and  ca- 
umny  of  her  enemies — the  envy  and  falseheartedness  even  of 
'  er  friends.  He  must  reckon  on  the  hatred  and  active  malignity 
of  every  idolator  of  bigotry —  of  every  minion  of  power — of  every 
agent  of  corruption.  But  that  is  little ;  he  will  have  to  en- 
counter the  hollow  and  treacherous  support  of  pretended  linen < is 
—-of  those  interested  friends  respecting  whom  he  will  in  vam 
exclaim — "God  protect  me  from  my  friend,  I  can  x' 
froxn  mine  enemies !" 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  360 

\\~hat  is  to  cheer  and  to  recompense  him  in  his  exertioiis  t — • 
The  richest  and  best  of  re  wards —  your  applause  ! 

You  have,  then,  done  wisely  to  grant  that  precious  recompense 
to  one  so  little  deserving  as  myself,  because  you  have  thereby 
held  out  a  prospect  to  higher  minds  of  what  they  may  expect 
from  you.  You  have  fanned  the  flame  of  pure  patriotism,  and 
I  trust  enlisted  in  your  service  the  juvenile  patriots  of  the  land 
-with  talents  superior — oh  !  beyond  comparison — to  my  preten- 
sions. (Mr.  O'Counell  here  turned  to  Mr.  Shell  who  sat  near 
him.)  [Hear,  hear.] 

And  he  and  others  will  be  roused  to  serve  and  adorn  their 
widowed  country. 

Of  your  traducer  I  shall  say  nothing.  You  have  refuted  his 
calumnies.  For  myself  I  need  not  tell  you  that,  in  the  struggle 
for  the  liberties  of  Ireland,  every  peril,  personal  or  political,  is 
to  me  a  source  of  pleasure  and  gratification.  For  myself  I  can 
only  once  more  repeat  that  any  language  I  am  acquainted  with 
sinks  beneath  the  sensations  with  which  a  reward  so  dispro por- 
tioned to  the  only  merit  1  can  lay  claim  to  (that  of  good  inten- 
tion) inspires  me. 

1  have  heretofore  loved  my  country  for  herself — /  am  now  her 
bribed  servant,  and  no  other  master  can  possibly  temp'  >ie  to 
neglect,  forsake,  or  betray  her  interests  ! 

Forty  years  have  elapsed  since  this  protestation  :  nearly  seven  since  the  death  ot  him 
•u  li<>  made  it..  Let  Ireland  now  calmly  review  his  life  and  acts,  and  say  did  ho  not,  keep 
•us  word 

At  the  meeting  of  the  18th,  at  which  Mr.  O'Connell  thus  spoke,  there  were  read  preli- 
minary to  the  business  of  the  day,  communications  from  the  Earl  of  Donoughmo.-e  juwi 
Henry  G  rattan,  in  answer  to  the  explanatory  address  of  the  Board,  passed  some  meeting- 
previous. 

The  tone  of  these  letters  was  not  improved,  continuing  to  savour  very  much  of  captiou* 
ruperciliousness ;  but  the  ground  which  the  writers  took  at  the  beginning  of  the  corres- 
rondwice  was  so  far  lowered,  that  they  consented  to  receive,  at  suggestion*,  the  statement 
of  CathouO  opinion  which  they  had  before  co  stiffly  refused,  and  endeavoured  to  stigmatise 
vs,  an  attempt  at  dictation. 

Alter  a  few  words  from  Mr.  O'Connell  and  others,  the  consideration  of  them  was  post 
cued  to  t  future  day 


CATHOLIC  BOARD. 

Saturday,  December  2±th,  1813. 

EDWARD  BLAKE,  of  Frenchfort,  in  the  Chair. 

*••  rtose  the  record  of  Catholic  proceedings  in  the  eventful  year  1813,  -with  th«lr  mceciitf 
f  (  Jtaturday,  December  24th,  on  a  matter  that  had  given  rise  to  considerable  oieitemon-, 
Ae4  duciLvsion— it  was  the  speech  of  Dr  Dromgoole,  when  proposing  his  motion  of  eutln 


370  $KW/rr  SPEECHES  or 

lepwllation  of  Sb.arities;  and  the  whole  affair  can  be.  best  explained  by  a  brUf  account  o. 
•ome  of  the  occurrences  at  it. 

On  the  chair  being  taken,  Dr.  Dromgoole  rose  and  said  he  had,  on  the  last  day  of  meeting 
litimated  that  it  was  his  intention  to  take  an  early  opportunity  of  replying  to  the  aniinad- 
rersions  made  on  his  speech.  It  had  borrowed  its  importance,  not  so  much  from  anything 
to  be  found  in  the  speech,  as  from  the  mutilation  of  the  paragraphs.  As  he  meant  to  havd 
»t  printed  in  a  correct  form,  accompanied  with  a  >  indication  of  his  statements  and  opinionA 
Ae  trusted  the  Catholic  Board  would,  until  then,  give  him  a  short  respite  of  opinion. 

Mr.  O'Gorman  immediately  got  up,  with  the  Dublin  Evening  foil  in  his  hand,  containing 
Dr.  Dromgoole's  sj-eech,  and  a  »neet  of  paper,  containing  the  heads  of  the  objections  whicii 
he  (Mr.  O'G.)  intended  to  urge. 

Mr.  O'Conncll  and  otLers  urged  the  propriety  ot  granting  the  delay  desired. 

After  some  discussion,  Mr.  O'Gorman  being  called  upon  proceeded : — 

"Sir,  this  is  a  question  of  too  vital  and  important  a  nature  to  be  stifled  or  suppressed.    It 
resolves  itself,  in  fact,  to  this  point :  whether  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  shall  silently  submit 
to  hare  themselves  considered  as  participators  in  the  folly  and  guilt  of  a  speech  which 
amounts  to  a  complete  verification  of  ail  the  calumnies  imputed  to  us  by  Dr.  Duigenan,  Mr 
Giffard,  or  Sir  Richard  Musprave— for  silence  is,  in  this  instance,  acquiescence. 

"The  objectionable  passages  of  that  speech  which  were  heard,  were  rebuked  on  the  spct 
joth  by  my  learned  friend  (Mr.  O'Connell)  and  myself;  those  were  the  passages  in  which 
he  described  different  descriptions  of  sectaries,  as  nestling  under  the  wings  of  Protestantism ; 
and  in  which  he  alluded  to  the  improbable,  nay,  almost  impossible  case  of  a  Catholic  be- 
coming the  king  of  those  realms." 

Mr.  O'Gorman  then  went  on  to  review  the  speech,  tenatim,  and  concluded  thus  :— 

"  I  have  felt  it  a  paramount  duty  to  disclaim,  both  on  my  own  part  and  that  of  the  body, 
loctrlnes  so  unwise,  so  injurious,  so  dangerous,  so  unjust,  and  so  uncliristianlike ;  and  1 
trout  the  disclaimer  will  be  adopted  by  this  meeting.' 

Mr.  Finn  followed,  and  entered  his  solemn  protest  against  the  doctrines  contained  in, 
the  speech  imputed  to  Dr.  Dromgoole. 

Mu.  O'CONNELL  said,  that  before  the  question  was  put,  he,  toe, 
was  anxioua  to  deliver  his  sentiments :  and  although  he  concurred 
vrith  the  i  ^solution,  and  was  desirous  to  redeem  the  Catholic 
Board  from  the  novel  charge  of  bigotry,  yet  he  was  still  more 
anxious  to  rescue  his  excellent  friend,  Dr.  Dromgoole,  from  the 
load  of  much  unmerited  calumny. 

In  despite  of  that  calumny,  he  would  call  and  consider  Dr 
Dromgoole  his  excellent  friend  ;  he  had  qualities  meriting  that 
name,  both  as  a  public  and  a  private  man.  As  a  public  man, 
he  was  zealous,  talented,  honest,  incorruptible,  persevering,  in- 
defatigable ;  as  a  private  man,  he  was  kindly,  sincere,  unaffected 
— with  as  little  of  the  oppressive  bigot  disposition  about  him — 
with  a  disposition  as  contrary  to  bigotry  an«l  oppression  as  any 
human  being. 

In  public,  you  all  know  him — in  private,  I  know  him  well  • 
and  a  man  more  abhorreut  of  any  violence  or  constraint  upon  any 
religious  opinion  whatsoever,  however  repugnant  to  his  own. 
cannot  exist.  I  have,  therefore,  to  complain,  that  so  much  cla- 
inour  has  been  raised  against  him  upon  the  report  of  a  speech 
which,  he  tells  you,  is  not  correctly  reported— and  which  w«, 


DANIEL  O'OONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.r.  o7I 

who  were  present  when  he  spoke,  all  know  cannot  possibly  bf 
correctly  reported.  1  do  but  justice  to  my  friend  in  this  de- 
scription ;  and  although  there  is  no  calumny  I  fear  so  little  as  n 
charge  against  me  of  bigotry — because  even  my  enemies  kno\v 
that  I  am  the  devoted  advocate  of  the  principle  of  religious  li- 
berty— yet  I  must  do  myself  the  justice  to  say,  that  no  man  can 
reject  and  condemn,  more  distinctly  or  emphatically  than  I  do 
whatever  of  intolerance,  or  of  harshness,  or  of  bigotry,  may  be 
found  in  the  speech  published  as  that  of  Dr.  Dromgoole. 

But  I  do  not  condemn  that  publication  upon  any  ground  of 
impolicy ;  policy  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  the  ground  upon  which 
our  censure  should  be  placed  ;  I  know  of  no  policy  that  could 
justify,  or  ought  to  palliate  the  suppression  of  every  man's  real 
opinions  ;  for  my  part  1  have  no  desire  to  enter  into  the  paly 
of  the  constitution  under  any  disguise — I  have  no  wish  to  filch 
.iway  any  part  of  the  constitution.  My  sentiments  are  frank  anu 
avowed  :  I  am  a  Roman  Catholic  from  conviction,  as  well  as  in 
consequence  of  my  birth  and  education — I  am  firmly  attached 
to  the  Catholic  persuasion,  because  it  appears  to  my  mind  the 
best ;  and  whilst  I  admit,  cneerfully,  to  others  r.  similar  right  </», 
selection  and  preference,  I  disclaim  and  reject  any  emancipation 
but  that  which  shall  be  granted  to  me  as  a  Catholic. 

If  this  declaration  be  displeasing  to  our  enemies — if  it  have 
not  sufficient  of  accommodation  and  conciliation  for  our  kind 
and  condescending  friends,  let  them  reject  my  claim,  for  I  never 
will  condescend  to  cffer  that  claim  otherwise  than  as  a  Catholic. 

Speaking,  therefore,  of  the  speech,  not  as  spoken  here  by  Dr. 
Dromgoole,  but  as  published  for  him,  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying,  that  it  is  not  because  of  its  impolicy  I  find  any  fault  with 
it,  but  upon  that  principle  of  mutual  toleration  and  respectful 
courtesy  towards  each  other,  which  ought  to  govern  the  speeches 
ind  publications  of  all  sects  of  Christians. 

Perhaps  we  are  justified  in  treating  the  bigotry  of  a  Catholic 
rith  more  harshness  than  the  same  quality  in  a  Protestant,  just 
•a  the  injury  one  suffers  from  a  friend  is  more  unpardonable 
.han  the  extreme  of  outrage  from  an  enemy  ;  yet  I  am  grieved 
:o  see  that  those  very  persons  who  behold,  with  perfect  indiffer- 
ence, the  Catholic  religion  and  Catholic  people  of  Ireland  out- 
t-aged  and  insulted  in  the  most  scandalous  and  infamous  manner, 
)xhibit  all  the  violent  and  frantic  irritation  of  a  diseased  and 
aorbid  sensibility  at  the  lesser  offences  comprised  in  the  speech 
published  by  Dr.  Dromgoole.  I  do  complain  that  this  morbid 
fusibility  should  exhaust  its  violence  u*xm  the  speech  attributed 


372  Blfl.rcCT  ffPEECHJRS  Olf 


tc  the  learned  doctor  ;  and  whilst  I  do  not  justify,  but  reprobate 
fcvery  harsh  and  narrow-minded  passage  in  that  publication.  ! 
do  not,  I  cannot  forget  the  beastly  and  brutal  bigotry  towards 
ns  which  in  daily  exhibited  in  the  newspapers  in  the  pay  of  the 
government,  and  which  is  sanctioned  by  the  laws  themselves. 

This  clamour,  which  lias  been  excited  respecting  the  learned 
doctor's  speech,  brings  with  it  one  source  of  gratification.  I  air 
pleased  to  find  our  Protestant  friends  and  enemies  so  alive  to  the 
evils  of  bigotry.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  they  had  made  a  new  dis- 
eovery,  and  they  show  a  zeal  and  freedom  which  does  honour  to 
their  feelings,  and  is  proportionate  to  the  goodness  of  the  cause 
in  which  they  are  engaged  —  that  of  hostility  to  bigotry.  I  have 
ran  before  them  —  in  this  hostility  to  bigotry  I  now  most  heartily 
join  them,  friends  and  enemies  —  I  most  cheerfully  join  them  in 
their  hatred  of  bigotry  ;  all  I  require  of  them  is  to  allow  this 
holy  animosity  to  be  impartial  and  just  —  to  suffer  it  to  be  ap- 
)licable  and  applied  to  all  parties  and  religious  persuasions. 

Let  it  not  be  exhausted  and  spent  upon  Dr.  Dromgoole's 
\>eech  ;  but  let,  at  least,  a  little  of  it  be  reserved  for  the  bigotry 
«»f  those  who  attack  the  Catholics  of  Ireland. 

I  have  had  lately  occasion  to  refer  to  Dr.  Duigenan's  paui 
j)hlets  ;  and  I  thought  to  select  some  passages  to  show  how  mucb 
higotry  may  be  borne  by  modern  liberality,  provided  it  were  V 
^otry  directed  against  the  Catholics.  But  it  was  vain  to  enduv 
vour  to  select  —  there  is  but  one  idea  in  the  entire  of  his  works. 
that  Irish  Catholics  are  perjurers  in  principle,  traitors  from  choioo, 
and  murderers  by  religion. 

During  the  Richmond  administration  in  Ireland,  this  ma.- 
was  made  a  privy  councillor,  for  no  other  reason  but  his  calum- 
nies against  OB,  and  yet  these  detestators  of  bigotry  —  these  mei? 
who  are  now  in  such  a  ferment  against  illiberality  —  these  ac 
cusers  of  Dr.  Dromgoole  were  silent,  or  applauded  the  promotion 
of  Duigenan  !  If,  however,  I  have  not  been  able  to  make  any 
selection  from  amongst  the  calumnious  rhapsodies  of  Duigeuan, 
1  have  collected  a  few  flowers  from  the  government  newspaper 
of  the  last  six  weeks  —  1  will  not  disguat  you  with  the  reading  of 
more  than  two  of  them. 

Under  the  date  of  the  18th  of  last  November,  a  newspaper  in 
the  pay  of  the  Castle  has  the  following  tiratk.-.  upon  the  occasion 
i:f  the  seat  called  Castle-Brown,  in  Kildare,  having  been,  as  it 
usserts.  purchased  by  Jesuits  : 

'•  Ireland  stands  in  imminent  danger.     If  Popery  pnoeecds,  hei 
plains  will  once  more  witness  days  worthy  of  bloody  Marv' 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  373 

and  the  walls  of  Deny  shall  again  become  the  lamentable  bul- 
warks against  Popish  treachery  and  massacre  !" 

Well,  this  from  men  who  hate  the  expression  of  any  kind  of 
bigotry  !  who  are  in  a  rage  at  Dr.  Dromgoole  for  using  the  word 
"novelty"  in  a  disrespectful  sense ;  it  is,  one  would  think,  rather 
uncivil.  "  Papist  treachery  and  massacre"  are  perhaps  nearly 
as  bad  as  "  Protestant  novelty." 

But  this  is  a  mere  jest,  compared  with  a  paragraph  which  I 
found  in  a  government  newspaper  of  the  second  of  this  present 
December.  Hear  it  with  patience  : — 

"  The  letter  of  Cranmer  (alluding  to  a  letter  inserted  in  that 
paper),  shows  that  times  respectively,  when  each  of  the  funda- 
mental tenets  of  Popery  were  invented,  viz.,  the  power  of  the 
Pope  to  dispense  with  oaths,  and  depose  sovereign  princes,  by 
absolving  subjects  from  their  oaths  of  allegiance,  the  nullity  of 
oaths  to  heretics,  their  extirpation  as  a  religious  duty." 

Recollect  that  it  is  not  a  mere  isolated  individual — it  is  a  man 
patronized  and  salaried  by  the  administration — a  man  paid  with 
our  money,  that  has  the  effrontery  to  traduce  us  thus.  To  attri- 
bute to  us,  as  fundamental  tenets,  doctrines  of  perjury,  murderr 
/ind  treason — doctrines  which,  if  they  were  those  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  I  would  not  belong  to  her  communion  for  an  hour — 
doctrines  which  shook  anity,  and  would  make  religion  the 
most  cruel  and  tiie  most  absurd  mockery ! 

Where  is  now  that  fever  of  zeal  and  fever  of  liberality  that 
induced  the  public  press  to  strain  all  its  energies  on  the  attack  of 
Dr.  Dromgoole?  Whom  did  his  published  speech  accuse  of  per- 
jury, of  murder,  and  treason  ?  What !  shall  it  be  said  that,  like; 
the  eels  in  the  story,  we  Catholics  are  so  accustomed  to  bo  skin- 
ned alive,  that  we  do  not  feel  it,  but  that  the  sensibility  of  every 
other  sect  deserves  the  highest  protection — that  of  the  Catholic 
people  none  1  Are,  then,  the  Catholics,  in  the  opinion  of  their 
friends,  in  such  a  state  of  moral  degradation,  that  it  is  quite  unim- 
portant how  they  are  treated  ]  Alas!  I  much  fear  there  are  too 
v  many  who  think  so;  and,  miserable  slaves  that  we  are,  our  own 
dissensions  encourage  and  justify  the  opinion. 

But  that  opinion  has  a  higher  source  still.  The  law — the  bar- 
barous and  calumniating  spirit  of  legislation — has  consecrated 
the  contempt  in  which  we  are  held.  No  Protestant  3an  hold 
Dffice  in  Ireland  without  being  obliged  to  swear  : — 

"That  the  invocation  of  the  saints,  and  the  sacrifice  of  tin. 
mass,  as  they  are  now  used  in  the  Chu^i  vf  Rome,  are  supersti- 
tion* and  idolatrous !" 


574  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Take  notice,  it  is  not  any  abstract  notion  that  may  be  formed 
of  these  practices,  but  the  practices  themselves,  u'a*  titey  are  (Mu- 
tually used,"  are  idolatrous. 

Thus  our  Protestant  relatives,  kinsmen,  friends,  are  to  swear 
solemnly,  to  attest  to  the  ETERNAL  BEING,  that  we  are  IDOLATERS  ! 
Hence,  then,  with  the  partial  and  corrupt  irritability  that  seeks 
for  uu.jes  of  censure  in  the  language  of  an  unavowed  individual 
CuthoHc,  and  forgets  the  paid,  the  salaried,  the  authorized,  alas! 
the  sworn  calumnies,  the  bigotry  of  our  adversaries. 

But  do  I  justify  the  speech  given  to  the  learned  doctor?  Oh, 
no  ;  certainly  not.  I  do  not  think  calumny  and  bigotry  can  OF 
ought  to  be  set  off,  the  one  against  the  other ;  or  that  the  Ca- 
tholic could  or  ought  to  compensate  himself  for  the  intolerance 
of  his  enemies  by  being  himself  intolerant.  No ;  1  condemn  bcth 
— I  condemn  equally — I  condemn  the  paid  bigot  and  his  em- 
ployer, as  well  as  the  volunteer  bigot  and  his  approvers.  I  would 
if  i  could  silence  both,  and  establish  in  the  place  of  hatred,  bigo- 
try, and  recrimination,  a  heart-cheering  system  of  affection,  tole- 
ration, and  mutual  cordiality;  and  I  would  call  upon  all  the 
liberal  press  of  Ireland — a  press  which  has  such  a  paper  as  the 
Dublin  Evening  Post  at  its  head — not  to  exhaust  all  the  thuu- 
ders  of  my  friend  Dr.  Dromgoole,  but  to  reserve  enough  of  its 
fire  and  fury  to  blast  and  destroy  all  the  enemies  of  perfect  free- 
dom of  conscience. 

Let  me  not  be  for  one  moment  mistaken.  Much  as  I  regard 
Doctor  Dromgoole,  I  never  shall  conceal  my  decided  disapproba- 
tion of  some  of  the  topics  contained  in  his  printed  speech.  I 
heard  one  of  them  here ;  and,  respecting  my  friend  as  I  sincerely 
do,  I  distinctly  reprobated  that  topic,  and  insisted  that  reproach- 
ful language  should  not  be  used  of  any  sect  or  persuasion.  Doc- 
tor Dromgoole  will  also  give  me  credit  to  believe,  that  if  I  had 
heard  any  where  other  topics  of  the  printed  speech,  I  would 
equally  have  disclaimed  them  at  the  moment. 

But  there  is  much  exaggeration  in  the  censure  I  heard  this 
day — the  meaning  is  shamefully  mistaken — I  had  almost  said, 
distorted ;  but  there  is  one  thing  quite  clear,  that  this  Board  is 
Jie  most  unfit  theatre  in  the  world  for  polemical  divinity.  1* 
is  bad  enough  any  where — here  it  is  abominable.  The  Protes- 
tant divines  assert  their  system  commenced  with  the  Christian 
era,  and  was  disfigured  by  the  idolatrous  errors  of  Popery  for 
..enturies.  The  Catholic  divines  assert,  that  our  sybtem  com- 
menced with  the  apostles,  and  has  been  continued  since,  in  un- 
iu to  erupted  and  unbroken  succession  aiiti  liiat  our 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,   tt.P.  375 

have  embraced  human  inventions  in  the  stead  of  truth.  The  in- 
hdel  will  be  apt  to  exclaim,  "  Sottise  des  deux  parts  /** — and  the 
•ober  layman  will  leave  the  discussion  to  the  divines  at  both 
sides. 

Doctor  Dromgoole  seems  to  think  that  the  word  Protestant, 
which  has  been  in  use  for  near  three  hundred  years,  is  a  ncvelty. 
The  word  sec  "MS  to  have  caused  great  anger  and  violent  indigna- 
tion. I  reall)  am  not  aware  of  its  insulting  quality.  If  it  be 
true,  why  not  use  it  ?  If  it  be  untrue,  what  harm  can  this  un- 
important falsehood  do  ?  But  the  fact  is  that  those  nubjects,  one 
and  all,  are  unfit  for  oar  discussion  hero.  The  mutual  assertions 
of  polemics  cause  irritation  and  enmity,  and  never  can  induce 
conciliation  or  conviction.  No  man  is  ever  converted  from  his 
opinions  by  persecution  or  abuse.  Let  all  those  subje-cts  be  for 
over  banished  from  amongst  us,  and  let  us  set  the  glorious  exam- 
ple of  preaching  and  practising  the  doctrines  of  that  Ctiristianity 
which  is  founded  in  fraternal  affection,  and  best  evinced  by  fra- 
ternal charity. 

Eight  years  have  now  elapsed  since  our  agitation  commenced. 
During  that  period  we  have  had  meetings  of  every  class ;  we  have 
had  speakers  of  every  age,  of  every  occupation,  of  every  profes- 
sion ;  we  have  spoken  in  the  hour  of  hope ;  we  have  talked  in 
disappointment ;  we  have  been  heard  in  the  long  intervals  of 
doubt — almost  of  despair  ;  during  this  period  our  active,  zealous, 
and  indefatigable  enemies  have  watched  us  well.  The  secret  spy, 
the  avowed  hireling,  the  treacherous  friend,  have  attended  to  all 
our  discourses,  and  yet  they  have  been  unable  to  detect  one  sin 
gle  phrase  of  bigotry,  a  single  expression  of  illiberality,  a  single 
idea  of  harshness  to  other  sects,  or  a  single  indication  of  that 
mind  which  would  retaliate  oppression  upon  the  oppressors. 

We  could  not  have  kept  a  secret  so  long.  We  could  not  have 
suppressed  our  real  sentiments.  Why  has  there,  to  the  present 
period,  been  no  bigotry  discovered  ?  For  one  reason  only,  be- 
cause it  did  not  exist ;  and  those  who  boast  that  they  have  at 
length  discovered  it  in  Doctor  Dromgoole's  speech — those  whc 
exhibit  such  joy  at  the  discovery,  do,  in  spite  of  themselves,  by 
their  very  triumph  at  the  discovery  of  bigotry  in  one  individual 
pay  the  Catholics  at  large  the  compliment  of  admitting  that 
the  discovery  was  unexpected — that  bigotry  was  rare  amongst 
us,  and  the  finding  of  it,  therefore,  a  triumph  to  our  enemies 
In  this  very  triumph  is  found  the  finest  eulogium  that  could  be 
paid  to  the  long-oppressed  and  mildly-suffering  people  of  Ii>» 
laud.  It  is  the  voice  of  a  bitter  enemy  in  its  joy  proclaiming 


376  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

its  astonishment  that  a  cause  of  repr.iach  could  be  found  *o 
"•tibt  in.  any  one  individual  of  the  Catholic  body. 

I  conclude  by  giving  my  concurrence  to  the  motion.  For  my 
own  p-*rt  I  have  devoted  much  of  my  time  to  th<  Catholic  cause 
— a  time  of  little  value,  alas  !  to  my  country,  but  of  great  value 
to  myself;  but  I  would  not  give  up  one  hour  of  that  time,  or  a 
single  exertion  of  my  mind,  to  procure  the  more  victory  of  any 
one  sect  or  persuasion  over  the  others  !  No,  my  object  is  of  a 
loftier  and  different  nature.  I  AM  AN  AGITATOR  WITH 
ULTERIOR  VIEWS  !— I  wish  for  liberty— real  liberty  i 

But  there  can  be  no  freedom  any  where  without  perfect 
liberty  of  conscience.  That  is  of  the  essence  of  freedom  in 
every  place.  In  Ireland,  it  is  eminently,  almost  exclusively 
the  hope  of  liberty. 

The  emancipation  I  look  for  is  one  which  would  establish  the 
rights  of  conscience  upon  a  general  principle  to  which  every 
class  of  Christians  could  equally  resort—a  principle  which  would 
serve  and  liberate  the  Catholics  in  Ireland,  but  would  be  equally 
useful  to  the  Protestant  in  Spain — a  principle,  in  short,  which 
would  destroy  the  Inquisition  and  the  Orange  Lodges  together, 
and  have  no  sacrilegious  intruder  between  man  and  his  Creator? 
I  esteem  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  as  the  most  eligible.  All 
I  require  is  that  the  Protestant,  the  Presbyterian,  the  Dissenter, 
the  Methodist,  should  pay  the  same  compliment  to  his  own  per- 
suasion, and  leave  its  success  to  its  own  persuasive  powers,  with* 
out  calling  in  the  profane  assistance  of  temporal  terrors,  or  the 
corrupt  influence  of  temporal  rewards. 

With  these  views,  with  these  sentiments,  I  concur  in  the  re- 
solution proposed,  and,  I  am  encouraged  to  concur  in  it  because 
it  does  not  appear  to  me  that  my  friend,  Doctor  Dromgoole, 
thinks  it  ought,  in  its  present  shape,  to  be  opposed,  or  if  I  find 
any  difficulty  in  acceding  to  it,  that  difficulty  arises  from  my 
great  contempt  for  that  hireling  clamour,  excited  by  the  vilest 
bigots,  against  a  very  feeble  imitation  of  their  own  practice,  and 
to  which  clamour  you  appear  to  me  to  offer  a  tribute  wliich  it 
toes  not  deserve  to  obtain. 

This  senseless  and  magpie  accusation  of  bigctry  is  raised 
Against  us  by  the  very  creatures  who  are  daily  trafficking  them- 
selves in  bigotry.  The  Orangemen  arraigning  religious  prej  u- 
dices  !  Oh,  for  a  sermon  in  favour  of  chatstity,  to  be  preached 
by  the  venerable  keeper  of  a  brothel !  Yet  to  this  goddess  is 
the  tribute  of  this  vote  offered.  Think  yon  that  you  will  con- 
ciliate th«>Ke  who  raised  this  uproar  i  Do  you  iinngrie  tha* 


DANIEL   O'CONNELL,    ESQ.,    M.P.  377 

tight  from  heaven  would  convince  them  ?  No,  no  T  they  have 
an  immediate  interest  in  traducing  you,  and,  right  or  wrong, 
ihey  must  give  their  allotted  portion  of  bigotry. 

I  do  dislike  this  motion  on  that  account,  and  it  does  require 
Jfce  knowledge  that  Doctor  Dromgoole  himself  will  not  oppose 
ihe  motion,  to  bring  me  over  to  his  support. 

There  is  another  principle  of  opposition,  too,  which  I  meant 
to  take,  and  if  I  did,  it  would,  I  imagine,  be  irresistible — it  is 
the  precedent  which  this  vote  will  leave.  I  solemnly  protes* 
iigainst  it  as  a  precedent.  I  would  not  have  the  Board  made  re- 
sponsible for  the  speeches  of  any  individual  I  protest  against 
such  responsibility.  I  would  not  have  the  Board  deemed  an- 
swerable for  the  speeches  of  my  learned  friend,  Mr.  O'Gormatk 
nor  for  my  nearer  friend,  Mr.  Finn ;  still  less  would  I  have  you, 
held  responsible  for  my  discourses.  And  yet  if  we  disavow  Doc- 
tor Dromgoole's  speech,  what  will  be  the  obvious  consequences f 
Why,  that  the  hirelings  will  exclaim  at  every  sentence  that  sound* 
harsh  to  their  servile  ears,  "Why,  this  is  the  sentiment  of  the 
Catholic  Board."  It  will  be  in  vain  to  answer,  "  No  it  is  tho 
sentiment  but  of  an  insignificant  individual" — I  allude  to  rr.y 
own  case — the  reply  will  in  future  be  decisive.  It  must  be  the 
opinion  of  the  entire  Board,  otherwise  they  would  disavow  it,  a. 
they  disavowed  Doctor  Dromgoole. 

Thus  the  present  motion,  originating  as  it  has  done  with  men 
whose  eiTors  can  be  attributed  only  to  mistaken  patriotism,  will 
for  ever  afford  our  enemies  an  argument  and  a  proof  that  the 
opinions  of  each  individual  are  authorized  by  the  Board,  because 
not  disavowed. 

Yet  I  will  not  divide  the  Board,  but  vote  for  this  motion,  be- 
cause it  gives  me  another  opportunity  of  reprobating  bigotry  and 
religious  rancour  in  general,  and  of  pouring  my  execrations  on 
the  causes  of  that  feud  which  changed  the  inhabitants  of  this 
land  from  countrymen  and  brothers,  and  made  them  aliens  tc 
each  other,  and  mortal  enemies;  that  feud  ^hich  has  struck 
down  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Ireland  from  her  rank  as  a  nation, 
leaving  her  nothing  but  the  name  of  the  paltry  and  pitiful  pro- 
vince, in  which  we  vegetate  rather  than  live  ! 

Alter  Mr.  O'Conneli.  Df  DroirgooU  p>oke.  and  >bo  resolution  jiaased. 

2  B 


378  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

COURT  OF  KING'S  BENCH. 
THE  KING  at  the  Prosecution  of  the  DUKE  OP  RICHMOM)  v.  MAOEJB. 

Ws  revert  once  more  to  the  year  1813,  to  give  another  act  of  the  Magee  melo-arama. 

MR.  O'CoNNELL  said  he  was  instructed  to  move  the  Court  to 
set  aside  the  verdict  of  conviction  obtained  by  the  prosecutol 
ugainst  Mr.  Magee.  These  were  the  reasons  assigned  by  the  de< 
fendant,  upon  which  the  verdict  ought  to  be  set  aside  :  — 

"  First — That  the  jury  v/as  not  regularly  empannelled,  ballottcd,  and 
sworn. 

"  Second — That  the  jury  was  unduly  returned  upon  a  second  venire, 
dler  a  former  venire  had  been  issued  and  returned.  . 

"Third — That  there  was  not  evidence  to  go  to  the  jury  of  a  publicn- 
cation  of  the  alleged  libel  in  the  county  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  and  for 
the  misdirection,  in  that  particular,  of  the  learned  judge." 

To  raise  these  objections  in  law,  it  would  be  necessary  to  ex- 
amine the  facts,  and  these  facts  were  brought  before  the  court 
by  the  affidavit  of  Mr.  Magee,  which  stated  that  notice  of  trial 
ftad  been  served  on  him  on  the  17th  of  May  last ;  that  a  writ  cf 
venire  facias  had  issued,  tested  the  5th  of  May,  and  returnable 
on  theltfonday  next  after  the  Morrow  of  the  Ascension,  which 
had  been  returned  with  a  panel  annexed ;  that  he  heard  and 
believed  that  a  writ  of  distringas  had  issued,  grounded  on  that 
venire. 

The  affidavit  further  stated,  that  the  trial  having  been  post- 
poned, it  did  not  take  place  till  the  2Cth  of  July ;  that  a  new 
writ  of  venire  facias,  bearing  test  the  31st  of  May,  and  returnable 
in  three  weeks  from  the  Holy  Trinity,  had  issued  und  was  re- 
turned with  a  panel  annexed  ;  and  that  in  the  panel  annexed  tc 
the  second  venire,  there  were  some  names  different  from  those  in 
the  panel  annexed  to  the  first  venire. 

Such  were  the  facts  disclosed  by  Mr.  Magee's  affidavit.  There 
had  been  abundant  time  given  to  the  crown-solicitor  to  answei 
this  affidavit,  and  to  rectify  any  mistake  or  misapprehension ;  no 
answer  had  been  given,  and,  therefore,  for  the  purposes  of  the 
present  motion,  it  must  be  taken  for  granted  that  the  facts  were 
w  Mr.  Magee  stated  them  to  be ;  in  other  words,  the  defendant's 
Affidavit  must  be  taken  to  be  true. 

Chief  Jnttic«~We  -will  not  look  to  any  affidavit— these  are  matters  of  record.  We  win 
toasult  the  officer  of  the  court  upon  them-  this  is  the  time  to  have  the  facts  ascertained 
Vf  him.  Mr.  Bourne,  how  to  the  fact  ? 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  379 

Mr.  Bomne,  the  cl;rk  of  the  crown,  said  that  on  the  5th  of  May  a  venire  issued  return  . 
BMe  on  the  31st,  being  the  last  day  of  term,  on  which  day  the  court  had  postponed  th» 
trial.  The  venire,  however,  had  been  returned  in  the  usual  way,  with  the  panel  annexed 
by  the  sheriff,  on  the  .30th  of  May,  but  no  distringas  issued  on  that  venire.  On  the  31st  o 
May  A  jfcond  venire  issued,  returnable  on  the  morrow  of  three  weeks  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
lad  on  this  venire  a  distringas  issued,  and  the  trial  was  had. 

Mr.  O'Connell  asked  if  the  names  inserted  in  the  second  panel  were  not  different  froa 
those  inserted  in  the  first  ? 

Mr.  Bourne  said  that  there  were  some  of  them  different. 

Mr.  O'Connell — Now,  my  lords,  we  are  agreed  as  to  all  the  facts,  except  one.  We  ar* 
agreed  that  two  venires  issued,  and  were  returned  with  a  panel  annexed  to  each,  and  that 
those  panels  were  different  from  each  other.  The  only  fact  we  can  dispute  about  is  the 
issuing-of  the  aistringas  on  the  first  venire.  Now  the  affidavit  states  that  such  distringaf 
issued.  The'crown-solicitor,  who  must  know  the  fact  positively,  as  it  belonged  to  him 
alone  to  issue  it,  is  silent.  The  fact  being  unoontradicted  by  him,  who  alone  could  posi- 
tfvely  contradict  it,  must  be  taken  for  admitted,  because  not  denied.  I  am,  therefore,  at 
liberty  to  assume,  for  the  purposes  of  my  argument,  that  there  were  two  writs  of  distringat 
as  well  as  two  writs  of  venire. 

Chief  Justice — No  such  thing.  The  officer  declares  that  there  was  but  one  distringaat 
and  we  will  take  his  certificate  as  conclusive. 

Mr.  O'Connell— My  lord,  the  officer  cannot  certify  any  such  thing.  He  does,  I  admit, 
declare  it,  but  he  cannot  certify  it,  because  a  negative  certificate  to  that  effect  would  be  in 
the  nature  of  an  alibi,  lasting  from  the  5th  to  the  31st  of  May.  If  the  officer  was  for  one 
moment  out  of  the  office  during  that  period,  the  distringas  might  have  issued  without  bis* 
knowing  -nything  about  the  matter ;  for  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  he  can  possibly 
recollect  all  the  writs  he  signs  for  a  month.  Now  the  practice  is  to  issue  the  venire  and 
disfringas  together.  Yon  will  find  it  so  laid  down  in  Tidd's  Book  of  Practice,  5th  edition, 
page  795.  The  assertion  of  the  officer  is  therefore  of  no  weight  in  the  matter.  The  only 
way  to  contradict  our  affidavit  would  be  by  the  affidavit  of  the  crown-solicitor,  who  musk 
know  the  fact,  or  a  negative  certificate  out  of  the  seal-book. 

Justice  Day — If  the  distringat  had  issued,  it  would  have  been  returned  to  the  office,  and 
we  should  find  it  with  the  officer,  along  with  the  venire.  . 

Mr.  O'Connell— No,  my  lord,  you  could  not  find  it  with  the  officer;  it  is  never  returned 
to  the  office ;  it  cannot  be  returned  to  the  office,  because  it  is  not  a  returnable  writ ;  nor 
in  It  ever  brought  in,  unless  there  be  a  trial,  and  then  it  comes  to  the  officer, . together  witt 
the  posted. 

Justice  Day— Why,  it  is  impossible  that  distringas  could  have  issued.  The  venire  waf 
returnable  on  the  31st  of  May,  the  distringas  could  not  issue  until  the  next  day,  and  npoj 
the  31st  the  court  postponed  the  trial. 

Mr.  O'Connell— Is  it  your  lordship's  opinion  that  the  venire  being  returnable  the  31st 
May,  the  distringas  could  not  be  tested  or  issue  until  the  1st  of  June  ? 

Justice  Day — Certainly ;  that  is  my  opinion.  I  am  quite  clear  that  the  venire  being 
Returned  on  the  31st  of  May,  the  distringas  must  bear  test  next  day. 

Mr.  O'Connell— Then,  my  lord,  that  would  be  error ;  that  precisely  would  make  the 
Record  erroneous.  The  identical  point  was  determined  in  Tutchin's  case,  2nd  Lord  Raym 
1061,  and  14th  Cobbett's  State  Trials,  1095.  There  the  venire  was  returnable  the  23rd  ol 
October— the  distringas  bore  test  the  24th,  and  it  was  held  to  be  a  discontinuance,  and  the 
Judgment  was  arrested. 

Chief  Justice   -Well,  Sir,  tee  are  all  of  opinion  that  the  report  of  the  officer  must  be  taitn 

conclusive ;  and  you  are  bour»!  to  argue  the  case  as  if  no  distringas  bad  issued.  We  wil' 
j>t  hear  the  matter  debated  after  the  declaration  of  the  officer. 

MR.  O'CONNELL — Well,  my  lords,  I  must  take  it  so ;  and  realty 
ft  does  not  weaken  the  case  of  my  client.  The  law  is  as  clearlj* 
in  his  favour  as  if  it  was  admitted  that  the  distringat  had  issued ; 


380  SELECT  SPEECHES  Of 

nl though,  until  controlled  by  the  court,  I  did  not  feel  at  liberty 
to  give  up  even  a  point  of  no  great  importance. 

Let  me,  before  I  go  into  the  argument  of  the  case,  take  the 
precaution  (probably  a  superfluous  precaution)  of  showing  that 
Uie  court  can,  and  may  set  aside  verdicts  had  against  any  person 
charged  with  a  crime.  When  the  party  accused  is  acquitted, 
then,  indeed,  the  court  cannot  set  aside  the  verdict ;  but  it  is 
otherwise  when  a  verdict  of  conviction  was  given.  In  2  Haw- 
kins, 628,  it  is  said  to  be  settled,  that  "  the  court  cannot  set 
aside  a  verdict  which  acquits  a  prisoner,  but  they  may  a  verdict 
that  convicts,  as  contrary  to  evidence,  or  the  directions  of  the 
(earned  judge,  or  any  other  verdict  whatsoever  for  a  mis-trial." 
This  authority  is  express,  that  a  verdict  of  conviction  may  be  set 
aside ;  so  it  seems  may  any  verdict,  which  I  understand  to  mean 
even  a  verdict  of  acquittal  in  the  case  o'f  a  mis-trial. 

Now,  my  lords,  this  is  an  application  to  set  aside  a  verdict  of 
conviction,  and  in  the  strongest  possible  case — a  case  of  mis- 
trial. There  was,  I  contend,  a  mis-trial  for  two  reasons : — 

First,  because  the  jury  was  not  regularly  empannelled  and 
balloted  for  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  act,  called  the  Bal- 
loting Act ;  and 

Secondly,  by  reason  of  the  second  venire. 

The  third  point — the  want  of  legal  evidence — belongs  rather 
to  the  class  of  cases  upon  improper  verdicts,  than  as  a  ground  of 
mis- trial. 

Upon  the  first  point,  the  fact  appears  on  the  record  that  there 
were  but  twenty-four  jurors  returned.  If  the  case  be  within  the 
Balloting  Act  there  should  have  been  at  least  thirty-six.  The 
(act  also  is,  that  the  jury  were  sworn  as  they  appeared ;  but  if 
the  case  be  within  the  Balloting  Act,  they  should  have  been 
drawn  by  lot.  Now  I  contend  for  it  that  this  case  is  within  the 
Balloting  Act.  That  act  is  the  20  Geo.  II.  c.  6.  It  is  entitled 
"  An  Act  for  the  better  regulating  Juries."  The  recital  of  this 
act  is  general,  that  many  evil  practices  had  been  used  in  cor- 
rupting of  jurors  returned  to  try  issues  before  justices  of  assize, 
or  at  nisi  prius,  and  expressly  to  prevent  the  like  practice  the 
remedy  is  applied  by  the  legislature. 

The  first  section  prescribes  the  amount  of  property,  which 
shall  be  a  necessary  qualification  for  jurors,  for  the  trial  of  issues 
between  party  and  party  before  justices  of  assize  or  nisi  prius, 
save  upon  trials  per  medietatem  lingua.  I  entreat  of  the  court 
to  carry  the  exception  in  its  recollection,  as  trials  per  medietatem 
can  occur  only  in  criminal  cases.  The  3rd  and  4th  sections  of 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  381 

ihe  statute  are  those  the  construction  of  which  is  now  in  contro- 
versy; they  enact  that,  after  the  1st  of  May,  1756.  every  sheriff 
or  other  officer,  to  whom  the  return  of  the  venire,  or  other  pro- 
cess, for  trial  of  causes  before  the  justices  of  assize  or  nisi  prius, 
doth  belong,  shall  annex  a  panel  thereto  containing  not  less  than 
thirty-six,  nor  above  sixty  names  of  jurors,  and  that  those  names 
need  not  be  entered  in  the  distringas,  but  the  panel  referred  to  ; 
and  the  statute  then  enacts,  that  those  names  shall  be  written 
on  separate  slips  of  paper  or  parchment,  and  put  into  a  box  or 
glass,  and  drawn  out  by  some  person  appointed  by  the  court  for 
that  purpose ;  aod  that  the  first  twelve  names  so  drawn  shall 
constitute  the  jury,  unless  in  case  any  person  be  set  aside  on  a 
challenge  when  another  name  is  to  be  drawn,  and  so  on  in  every 
case  of  challenge  until  the  jury  is  complete. 

My  lord,  if  the  case  of  Mr.  Magee  come  within  thia  statute, 
there  has  been  a  mis-trial,  because  the  proper  number  thirty-six 
were  not  returned,  and  because  there  was  no  ballot,  or  drawing 
of  the  names.     But  it  will  be  contended  for,  on  the  other  side, 
that  this  act  of  parliament  is  applicable  solely  to  civil  cause*, 
and  does  not  extend  to  criminal  causes ;  and  this  position  is  sus- 
tained upon  the  legal  rule  that  the  king,  is  bound  by  no  act  of 
parliament,  unless  specially  named  or   necessarily  implied.     I 
admit,  my  lords,  the  fact,  that  the  king  is  not  expressly  named 
in  this  act.     I  admit  also  the  rule,  as  a  general  rule,  but  it  has 
exceptions,  and  I  think  I  shall  be  able  to  demonstrate  that  this 
act  binds  the  'king,  and  extends  to  criminal  cases.     I  shall  estab- 
lish that  this  act  includes  criminal  as  well  as  civil  causes  upon 
three  grounds  : — 

First — Upon  the  ground  that  this  is  one  of  those  acts  of  par- 
liament which,  upon  general  principles,  bind  the  king  without 
his  being  specially  named. 

Secondly — Upon  the  construction  of  the  act  itself  taken  sepa 
rately. 

Thirdly — Upon  the  construction  of  this  act,  as  induced  and 
forfeited  by  a  comparison  with  other  statutes  made  in  part  ma- 
ter ia. 

I  have  admitted  the  rule,  that  the  king  is  not  bound  by  auj 
statute  unless  specially  named.  I  insist  there  are  exceptions 
to  that  rule.  The  very  first  authorities  in  the  law  prove  those 
exceptions.  The  words  of  Lord  Coke,  in  the  2nd  Inst.,  681,  are 
these — "  Whenever  a  statute  is  intended  to  remedy  a  wrong,  as 
the  statute  32  Henry  VIII.,  to  prevent  a  discontinuance  by  the 
husband  of  his  wife's  estate,  the  king  is  boundby  it,  though  not 


382  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

spe-lally  named."  I  beg  also  to  refer  the  court  to  5th  Co.  14 — • 
letters  A  and  B,  called  the  "Case  of  Ecclesiastical  Persons."  Ic 
is  expressly  laid  down  "  that  all  statutes  to  suppress  wrong — to 
take  away  fraud — to  prevent  the  decay  of  religion — bind  the 
king,  though  not  named  in  them."  And  in  the  case  of  the  king 
against  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  reported  in  1st  Stra.  516,  itia 
decided,  that  the  king  is  bound,  without  being  named,  by  all 
statutes  for  the  advancement  of  religion  or  of  learning.  Thus, 
then,  we  have  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  the  king  is  not  bound 
by  a  statute  unless  expressly  named.  The  king  is  bound,  though 
not  named  by  all  the  statutes  made  to  remedy  wrong,  to  sup- 
press wrong,  to  take  away  fraud,  to  prevent  the  decay  of  religion, 
lo  advance  religion,  to  advance  learning. 

Does  the  statute  in  question  come  within  any  of  those  excep- 
tions, is  the  only  remaining  question.  It  is  an  "  act  expressly 
to  prevent  the  evil  practices  of  corrupting  jurors,  and  to  pro- 
cure a  fair  and  impartial  trial."  Is  not  that  to  remedy  wrong  ? 
Is  not  the  suppression  of  the  corrupting  of  jurors  a  suppression  of 
a  wrong?  Is  it  not  a  fraud  to  corrupt  jurors,  and  does  not  this 
act  take  away  a  fraud  t  I  may  'go  further  and  say,  that  it  is  au 
act  to  prevent  the  decay  of  religion,  because  in  the  corruption 
of  jurors  perjury  is  necessarily  implied,  and  surely,  where  perjury 
prevails  religion  must  decay.  But  this  may  be  a  forced  construc- 
tion, anJl  I  need  not  rely  on  it.  It  is  quite  plain,  that  this  is  a 
statute  which  remedies  a  wrong,  suppresses  a  wrong,  and  takes 
away  a  fraud  j  it  suppresses  and  gives  a  remedy  for  a  wrong 
of  the  most  grievous,  scandalous,  and  abominable  kind,  the  cor- 
rupting of  jurors;  it  takes  away  a  fraud  of  the  most  mischievous 
and  dangerous  description,  the  corrupting  of  jurors. 

Is  the  court  prepared  solemnly  to  determine  that  to  corrupt 
jurors  is  no  wrong,  nor  any  fraud  ?  Look  at  the  instance  put  by 
Lord  Coke  of  a  wrong,  for  the  suppression  of  which  the  king  is 
bound  without  being  named.  A  discontinuance  by  the  husband 
of  the  wife's  estate — a  mere  inquiry  to  individual  property  ;  and 
can  it  be  imagined  that  the  corrupting  of  jurors,  which  renders 
all  property,  life,  and  honour  insecure  -the  corrupting  of  jurors, 
which  destroys  the  very  foundation  of  our  laws,  and  renders 
civilized  society  worse  than  barbarism — the  corruption  of  jurors, 
including  judicial  robbery  and  murder  ;  that  all  this  is  so  light 
and  trivial  a  nature  as  to  be  no  wrong,  no  fraud,  and  not  to  be 
compared  in  importance  with  the  invasion  by  a  husband  of  the 
rights  of  his  wife  to  her  freehold  estates. 

I  feel  that  I  consume  time  unnecessarily  when  I  press  this 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  KSQ.,  M.P.  S83 

point.  It  :s  impossible  that  this  evil  should  not  be  admitted  tc 
be  a  wrong  and  a  fraud  ;  as  the  authorities  which  1  have  cited 
cannot  be  overturned,  I  look  with  confidence  to  you:  decision, 
that  this  statute  of  the  29th  of  George  II.  is  one  which  binds 
the  crown,  although  not  specially  named ;  but  the  case  is  still 
stronger,  because  even  if  the  Court  decided  the  question  against 
me  on  the  general  principle,  yet  this  particular  statute  is  so 
framed  as  to  bind  the  king.  He  is  bound  by  the  first  section. 
That  section  enacts,  that  in  the  trial  of  all  issues  joined  between 
party  and  party  in  the  courts  above  or  at  Nisi  Prius,  no  person 
shall  be  a  juror  unless  he  have  a  certain  property,  except  on 
trials  per  medictatem  linguce,  and  also  except  in  counties  of  cities 
and  towns.  Now,  if  ever  the  exception  proved  the  rule,  this  is 
a  case  where  it  does  so.  The  exception  is  of  a  trial  per  medieta- 
tem  ;  but  that  trial  can  be  had  in  criminal  cases  only.  It  can 
be  had  in  the  one  case  alone  where  the  king  is  a  party.  The 
legislature  have  excepted  this  species  of  trial.  If  they  had  not 
expressly  excepted  it,  it  would  have  been  included,  or  this  ab- 
surdity must  follow,  that  the  legislature,  by  express  words,  ex- 
cepted that  which  was  not  included  at  all  in  the  enactment. 

To  this  dilemma  is  the  Court  reduced,  it  must  decide  either 
that  the  general  enactment  of  the  first  section  includes  criminal 
cases,  and  then  this  exception  is  sensible  and  rational,  or  that 
the  first  section  does  not  include  criminal  cases,  and  then  this 
exception,  introduced  by  the  legislature,  is  absurd  and  nonsen- 
sical. Either  my  construction  of  the  statute  is  the  right  cue,  or 
the  legislature  has  enacted  gross  and  childish  nonsense. 

Which  construction  will  the  Court  adopt  1  Assuredly  that 
construction  which  I  piit  on  the  statute,  and  which  gives  to  the 
entire  of  it  good  sense  and  plain  meaning,  and  the  Court  will  at 
once  reject  that  interpretation  which  converts  the  act  into  a 
jumble  of  absurdities  and  contradictions. 

Having  thus  established  upon  the  constitution  of  the  first  sec- 
tion of  the  statute  that  criminal  cases  are  included  in  it  as  well 
as  civil,  I  come  to  the  third  and  fourth  sections ;  and  here  the 
matters  appear  quite  plain  :  those  sections  speak  of  any  sheriff 
or  other  officer  ha-ving  the  return  of  the  venire  or  other  process, 
for  the  trial  of  causes  (those  are  the  words  of  the  act),  before 
justices  of  assize  or  Nisi  Prius  in  any  county.  The  words  are 
general,  they  apply  to  all  sheriffs  and  officers,  to  all  jury  process, 
to  all  causes,  and  to  all  counties.  There  is  no  exception  here 
v*  in  the  first  section  of  trials  per  medietatem.  There  is  no  ex  - 
here  as  in  the  first  section  of  counties,  and  cities.,  and 


BELBCT  SPEECHES  OF 

towus.     Let  3t  be  recollected  that  I  have  established  that  tm 
first  section  applies  to  criminal  as  well  as  civil  cases,  and  then 
have  only  to  contend  for  it,  that  the  other  sections,  which  are 
more  extensive  in  the  words  of  enactment,  are  at  least  equally 
extensive  in  meaning. 

The  state  of  the  argument  is  this ;  I  have  proved  that  the 
first  section,  though  more  limited  in  phrase  and  language,  extends 
to  criminal  as  well  as  civil  cases,  and  all  that  remains  is  to  show 
that  the  third  and  fourth  sections,  which  are  more  extensive  in 
phrase  and  language,  are  equally  extensive  in  meaning.  But 
the  very  terms  of  the  proposition  are  self-evident,  otherwise  this 
absurdity  would  follow,  ,  hat  when  the  legislature  said  less  it 
peant  more,  and  when  it  said  *iore  it  meant  less.  And  now,  my 
»ords,  to  decide  the  construction  of  the  statute  against  my  client 
will  be  to  introduce  inextricable  confusion  and  absurdity  into 
tur  statute  law,  and  render  language  of  no  avail  but  to  confound 
all  meaning  and  understanding.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  answered 
as  I  have  before  heard  the  assertion  made,  that  the  king  is  never 
included  under  the  description  of  a  party  to  a  cause.  My  answer 
will  be  the  words  of  the  10th  Charles  I.'  c.  13,  an  act  which  I 
will  have  again  to  refer  to.  It  enacts  : — 

"  That  in  all  cases  where  a  full  jury  does  not  appear,  then 
cither  party  may  pray  a  talcs,  as  well  where  the  king  is  a  party 
as  otherwise." 

I  cite  this  act  to  sjx>w  that  the  legislature,  under  the  descrip- 
tion of  party  to  a  cause,  has  included  the  king,  thus  giving  a 
legislative  meaning  to  the  word  which  precludes  the  necessity  of 
any  argument  to  show  its  legal  meaning.  1  have  thus  obviated 
the  only  objection  that  I  conceive  can  be  raised  to  my  con- 
siruction  of  this  statute.  I  have  thus  I  hope  successfully  con  • 
tended,  that  this  statute  should  be  construed  to  extend  to  crimi 
nal  as  well  as  civil  cases,  but  I  deem  it  right  to  confirm  this  con- 
struction, by  pointing  the  attention  of  the  Court  to  statutes 
made  for  the  same  purposes — the  procuring  of  fair  and  impartial 
jurors.  Statutes  made  in  aid  of  the  same  purpose  have  been  al- 
ways used  to  aid  the  construction  of  each.  The  courts  consider 
the  entire  as  one  system  of  law,  each  part  of  which  should  serve 
to  support  and  illustrate  the  rest. 

Let  us  see  then  how  the  present  statute  can  be  best  considered 
to  form  part  of  the  same  system,  with  the  10th  Charles  I. ;  it  in 
the  13th  chapter  of  the  2nd  session  of  that  year.  The  section 
I  would  particularly  call  the  attention  of  the  Court  to  is  the 
Jiird  ;  it  is  entitled : — 


DANIEL  0'CONNF.LL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  385 

"An  Act  concerning  the  Appearance  of  Jurors  at  Nisi  Prius." 

Tl.e  first  section  relates  to  the  qualification  of  jurors  and  re- 
gnlal  es  the  venire  ;  the  second  regulates  the  distringas  ;  and  the 
third  provides  for  the  appointment  of  a  tales,  for  default  of  the 
jurors  named  in  the  panel  "in  all  actions  as  well  Where  the  king 
is  a  party  as  where  he  is  not." 

Now  take  those  two  statutes  together,  you  will  find  the  king 
included  in  the  first,  which  purports  to  regulate  the  jurors  at 
Nisi  Prius ;  you  will  find  him  included  as  a  party,  and  you  will 
find  criminal  cases  (for  none  other  can  be  meant)  comprised  in 
the  words  "  all  actions."  See,  then,  whether  it  be  possible  to 
exclude  the  king  from  the  second  statute.  That  statute  is  part 
of  the  same  system  with  the  first,  and  both  are  made  with  the  same 
object ;  the  intention  of  the  legislature  is  the  game  in  both — to 
procure  a  fair  and  impartial  trial.  As  rj  the  third  section  of 
the  statute  of  the  10th  of  Charles  -.,  so  in  the  first  section. of 
the  29th  of  George  II.,  criminal  cases  are  plainly  included. 

Can  the  Court  perceive  all  this,  and  not  feel  the  monstrous 
absurdity  of  attempting  to  disjoint  the  two  statutes — to  break 
•ip  the  system  of  law  into  fragments,  by  giving  to  one  statute  a 
different  construction  from  the  other  ?  And  why  should  this  be 
/lone  !  Why  should  the  Court  make  the  legislature  thus  capri- 
cious ani  contradictory  ?  Why  should  it  make  the  first  statute 
differ  from  the  second  ?  Why  should  the  Court  make  the  first 
nection  of  the  second  statute  contradict  the  third  and  fourth 
sections  of  the  very  same  statute  ?  Surely  the  mischief  which 
the  legislature  desired  to  remedy  is  as  great  in  criminal  as  in 
civil  cases..  It  is  as  easy  to  corrupt  jurors  in  criminal  as  in 
civil  causes.  Nay,  it  is  more  likely  to  be  done.  The  temptation 
to  corrupt — the  temptations  to  be  jcorrupted  are  much  stronger 
m  criminal  than  in  civil  causes.  The  evil  consequences  are  as 
great,  really  much  greater,  in  the  criminal  causes.  Why  then 
shall  the  Court  adopt  a  construction  of  the  statute,  which,  against 
the  words  and  plain  intention  of  the  legislature,  must  confine  the 
remedy  and  relief  intended  by  parliament  to  crimes  of  minor  mis- 
chief and  more  difficult  perpetration,  and  exclude  the  cases  of 
greater  evil  and  more  easy  commission. 

My  lords,  I  confess  I  am  anxious  to  succeed  upon  tm»  j^it 
of  the  case.  If  the  Court  will  give  my  construction  to  the  act, 
they  will  go  far  to  prevent  any  odious  and  atrocious  attempt  to 
pack  a  jury.  The  subjects  of  the  land  will  have  the  same  chance 
of  i  air  and  impartitJ  jurww*  iu  criminal  oases  tried  at  Nisi  Priua, 


^  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP' 

as  they  have  in  civil  suits,  and  the  law  upon  this  subject  wili 
be  consistent  with  itself,  and  conducive  to  justice. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  the  practice  of  returning  but  twenty- 
four  jurors  has  fixed  a  judicial  construction  upon  this  act.  I 
deny  that  any  practice  can  alter  the  law,  and  besides  practice  iu 
civil  cases  (and  the  practice  has  been  confined  merely  to  civi! 
cases)  cannot  have  been  considered  as  of  any  importance.  It  ii 
a  practice  that  could  not  be  controlled  by  the  parties,  because 
under  the  statutes  of  Isofailes,  the  error  is  cured  by  verdict,  and 
therefore,  there  has  been  no  person  interested  in  civil  cases  t< 
bring  this  practice  in  review  before  the  court.  It  would  be  ol 
no  avail  to  a  party  in  a  civil  suit  to  go  to  the  expense  of  calling 
on  the  court  to  decide  upon  the  construction  of  this  act  after 
verdict,  when  he  was  stopped  from  taking  any  advantage  of  the 
error. 

I  do,  therefore,  firmly  rely  on  it,  that  the  practice  in  civil 
cases  cannot  afford  any  assistance  in  construing  this  statute. 
The  statute  itself  must  decide  the  question,  and  to  that  I  with  con- 
fidence appeal. 

If  this  statute,  the  29th  George  II.,  be  held  to  extend  to  cri 
niinal  cases,  there  is  an  end  to  all  question,  and  the  verdict  inus* 
be  set  aside.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  court  shall  decide  that  thi> 
statute  does  not  extend  to  criminal  cases,  then  our  second  objec 
tion  must  prevail — that  of  the  two  venires;  because  it  is  onl) 
that  statute  which  allows  a  second  venire  after  the  first  is  re- 
turned. The  prosecutor  is  reduced  to  this  dilemma — either  the 
29th  of  George  II.  c.  6,  extends  to  criminal  cases  (and  then  there 
das  been  a  mis-trial  for  want  of  sufficient  return  of  jurors,  and 
4/f  a  ballot),  or  that  act  does  not  extend  to  criminal  cases,  and 
then  there  has  been  a  mis-trial,  because  of  the  second  venire. 

My  lords,  neither  at  common  law,  nor  under  any  other  statute 
could  a  second  venire  issue  after  the  return  of  the  first ;  even  in 
civil  cases  no  second  venire  could  issue  at  common  law.  The 
rase  of  Pretious  v.  Robinson,  2  Vent.  173,  proves  that  there  could 
be  no  second  venire  at  common  law.  It  was  an  action  in  which 
jssue  was  joined  in  Hilary  Term,  in  the  second  year  of  Willian. 
and  Mary ;  the  venire  was  awarded  and  issued  in  that  term.  In 
Easter  Term  a  second  venire  issued,  upon  which  a  trial  and 
verdict  were  had  ;  the  jury  returned  was  precisely  the  same  upon 
loth  venires,  yet  the  verdict  was  set  aside  upon  the  grounds  of  its 
being  a  mis-trial.  The  court  said  all  the  proceedings  were  void, 
there  being  no  authority  for  the  second  venire.  This,  my  lords, 
is  a  case  in  point,  though  a  weaker  case  than  ours ;  for  the  jury 


DANIEL  O'COIINELL,  ESQ.,  M.F.  387 

in  that  was  the  same — in  ours,  different.  The  case  of  Pretiout 
v.  Robinson  appears,  however,  to  have  been  the  cause  of  the  in- 
terference of  the  legislature.  The  inconvenience  of  continuing 
the  same  jurors  from  term  to  term,  until  it  should  suit  the  con- 
venience of  the  parties  to  go  to  trial  ;  to  continue  the  jury  for 
years  in  attendance,  was  felt,  in  civil  cases,  to  be  a  great  incoDve- 
uience  to  suitors  as  well  as  to  jurors  themselves,  and  therefore 
Ihe  legislature  interfered.  But  you  see  from  the  case  I  have 
tited,  that  at  common  law  there  could  have  been  but  one  venire, 
even  in  civil  cases;  and  the  practice  was.  to  continue  the  jury 
by  issuing  a  distringas,  then  an  alias,  and  then  a  pluries  distrin- 
gas,  and  so  on  until  the  case  was  tried,  see  Tidd's  Prac.  789.  The 
first  statute  in  England  that  altered  the  law  in  this  respect  was 
the  7th  and  8th  of  Will.  III.  c.  32,  which  was  amended  and  ex- 
tended by  the  3rd  Geo.  II.  c.  25.  In  Ireland,  the  statutes  that 
relate  to  the  venire  are,  first,  the  act  of  the  10th  Chas.  L,  st.  2,  c. 
12  ;  it  enacts,  that  any  mis-awarding  of  a  venire,  or  defect  in  its 
return,  shall  be  cured  by  verdict ;  but  in  this  act  there  is  an  ex- 
press exception  of  criminal  cases. 

Second — The  act  of  7  Will.  III.  c.  25  ;  it  enacts,  that  want  of 
fifteen  days  between  the  test  and  the  return  of  the  writ  of  venire 
shall  not  be  deemed  error ;  but  in  this  act  there  is  also  an  ex- 
press exception  of  criminal  oases. 

Third — The  act  of  the  6th  of  Anne,  c.  10 ;  it  enacts,  that  a  venire 
may  be  directed  to  the  body  of  the  county,  and  not  to  any  par- 
ticular ville,  but  criminal  cases  are  excepted. 

These,  my  lords,  are  the  only  statutes  in  Ireland  which  altered 
the  common  law,  with  respect  to  the  writs  of  venire  facias,  before 
the  act  of  the  29th  Geo.  II.  c.  6.  But  in  the  three  former  acts 
criminal  cases  were  excepted,  so  that  unless  the  last  act,  the  29ih 
of  Geo.  II.  applies  to  criminal  cases,  the  writ  of  venire  in  those 
cases  must  be  regulated  by  the  common  law,  and  then  the  autho- 
rity of  Pretious  v.  Robinson  is  in  point  to  show  that  there  could 
not  have  been  a  second  venire. 

But  this  doctrine  does  not  rest  upon  the  authority  of  that  soli « 
tary  case.  The  law  is  distinctly  laid  down  in  the  case  of  tfc 
King  v.  Franklin — a  case  which  occurred  in  the  5th  of  Geo.  IT  4 
the  year  1731,  and  of  which  a  full  report  is  given  in  5th  T.  Rep. 
453,  in  the  case  of  the  King  v.  Perry.  In  Franklin's  case  it  was 
material  for  his  counsel  to  show  that  there  ought  to  have  beer  a 
second  jury  under  the  English  Special  Jury  Act;  but  they  failed 
upon  the  construction  of  that  act,  and  they  were  compelled  to 
admit  that  at  common  law  there  could  not  have  been  a  venire  de 


388  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

<&ovo.  Lord  Raymond,  then  Chief  Justice,  is  indeed  express  upon 
ihe  point.  "  The  statute  of  William  and  Mary,"  said  he,  "  does 
not  extend  to  criminal  cases ;  and,  therefore,  in  criminal  cases 
there  cannot  be  a  necond  venire"  Such  is  the  express  decision 
of  the  court  in  Franklin's  case,  :n  3731 ;  and  that  case  is  adopted 
as  clear  law  in  1793,  by  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  Court  of 
King's  Bench,  in  the  King  v.  Perry.  The  same  law  that,  after 
one  venire  returned,  there  could  not  issue  at  common  law  a  se- 
cond venire,  is  expressly  laid  down  by  all  the  books  of  practice; 
you  will  find  it  in  Tidd,  5th  Ed.  1792,  in  Gilb.  Comm.  Pleas,  92, 
and  laid  down  very  distinctly  in  the  case  of  the  King  v.  Hairt 
and  Mann,  in  1st  Stra.  267. 

In  that  case  there  was  a  scire  facias,  at  the  suit  of  the  crown 
to  repeal  letters  patent.  One  of  the  defendants  pleaded  to  the 
facts — the  other  demurred  in  law.  The  Attorney-General  applied 
for  a  trial  at  bar.  It  was  resisted  until  after  the  argument  of  the 
demurrer ;  because  if  that  were  determined  against  the  crown, 
any  trial  of  the  fact  would  be  superfluous.  The  Attorney-General, 
however,  said  that  the  venire  was  returned  and  filed,  so  that  if 
the  trial  was  put  off,  there  would  be  a  discontinuance.  But  the 
court  said,  "  there  is  no  danger  of  a  discontinuance  if  the  venire 
be  filed,  the  proper  entry  is  that  the  jury  ponitur  in  respectu;  if 
it  be  not  filed,  you  may  enter  a  vice  comes,  not  misit  breve,  and 
either  will  prevent  a  discontinuance." 

So  that  upon  all  these  authorities — Pretious  v.  Robinson,  The 
King  v.  Franklin,  The  King  v.  Perry,  Tlie  King  v.  Haire  and 
Mann,  and  from  all  the  books  of  practice,  I  draw  this  undeniable 
conclusion,  that  after  one  venire  is  returned  and  filed,  there  can- 
not be  a  second  venire  without  a  discontinuance  and  a  mis-trial, 
unless  under  the  authority  of  the  statute  of  the  39th  of  Geo.  II. 
But  the  prosecutor,  in  the  present  case,  cannot  rely  on  that  act, 
because  if  this  case  be  within  its  provisions,  then  there  was  a  mis- 
trial for  the  other  reasons  adduced. 

Perhaps  some  flimsy  attempts  may  be  made  to  distinguish  this 
case  from  those  I  have  cited,  upon  the  idle  allegatior  that  the 
first  venire  was  not  filed.  My  lord,  this  distinction  would  be  so 
very  senseless,  that  I  conjecture  it  would  be  resorted  to  only  be- 
cause there  is  no  other  possible  mode  of  escaping  from  the  di- 
lemma to  which  the  prosecution  is  reduced.  But  I  disdain  to 
argue  upon  so  unfounded  a  distinction.  The  venire  is  produced 
in  court  from  amongst  your  records ;  It  is  produced,  together 
with  the  rest  of  the  record,  and  as  part  of  the  entire.  Nothing  • 
is  filed  unless  this  venire  be  filed  j  and  1  believe  it  would  bft  in> 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  389 

possible  to  show  any  authority  to  distinguish  between  records 
that  are  filed  and  records  that  are  not.  I  dismiss  the  objection 
with  the  perfect  conviction  that  it  cannot  be  seriously  attended 
to,  and  does  not  deserve  a  serious  reply. 

Thus,  then,  stands  the  case  ;  there  are  two  venires,  both  re* 
turned  and  filed.  The  first  is  totally  abandoned,  and,  although 
in  the  office,  yet  a  false  suggestion  entered  of  vice  comes  not 
nisit  breve.  There  was,  therefore,  a  discontinuance,  there  was., 
therefore,  a  mis-trial. 

There  was  a  discontinuance  because  the  first  venire  was  not 
followed  up  in  regular  course.     The  entry  should  have  been  a 
respite  of  the  jury— -ponitur  in  retpectu — respectus  being  the  latf 
Latin  for  a  respite  ;  but  instead  of  that  entry  a  new  venire  is 
awarded,  and  upon  that  the  trial  is  had.     The  first  venire  is 
abandoned,  and  completely  discontinued  ;  any  the  slightest  in 
terruption  in  the  progress  of  the  process  is  a  discontinuance.    In 
Tuchin's  case,  which  I  have  already  cited  to  the  court,  the  venire 
was  returnable  the  23rd  of  October  ;  to  continue  the  process  re- 
gularly the  distringcu  should  Lave  borne  test  on  that  day ;  it 
bore  test  the  next  day,  the  24th,  and  this  was  held  to  be  a  dis- 
conti  nuance  or  interruption  of  the  process ;  yet,  as  the  law  knows 
no  fraction  of  a  day,  the  process  was  well  continued  by  the  venue 
until  the  last  moment  of  the  23rd  of  October,  and  the  distrmgai 
carried  it  on  from  the  first  moment  of  the  24tl*     There  was 
therefore,  no  discontinuance,  no  interruption  of  the  process,  savi 
for  the  ideal  instant  that  may  be  supposed  to  separate  the  las* 
moment  of  the  23rd,  from  the  first  moment  of  the  24th  of  the 
same  month  ;  but  the  law  recognising  the  existence  of  that  idea, 
instant,  as  making  a  separation  between  the  venire  ana  rfw- 
trinqas  •  and  the  -venire  being  completely  ran  out  before  tn* 
distringas  commenced,  the  court  decided  that  there  was  a  want 
of  connexion  between  them,  which  prevented  a  regular  continu- 
ance of  process,  and  the  judgment  was  arrested,  and  Tutchm 
escaped  punishment,  although  he  had  been  convicted  by  a  jury. 
But  see  how  much— how  infinitely  stronger  Mr.  MAGEES  case 
is  •  the  first  venire  was  returned  the  30th  of  May  last ;  on  the 
31st  its  return  was  out ;  from  that  day  to  this  there  have  been 
110  further  proceedings  on  it ;  it  has  been  abandoned,  not  for  an 
ideal  instant,  but  for  many  months,  and  altogether;  there  is  n« 
tnan  who  can  contend  but,  under  those  circumstances,  a  discon 
linuance  has  occurred  in  the  cause. 

I  may,  mv  lords,  be  greatly  mistaken,  but  I  confess  it  seeml 
to  me  to  be  "impossible  to  get  over  these  objections.      Fhe  pro- 


390  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

lecutor  has  discontinued  his  first  venire,  and  therefore  the  sub- 
sequent proceedings  are  void.  He  has  tried  Mr.  MAOEE  upon  a 
second  venire  and  a  new  panel,  and  therefore  the  proceedings  are 
void  ;  or  if  he  shall  resort  to  the  statute,  which  enables  parties 
in  civil  cases  to  abandon  the  first  and  issue  a  second  venire,  then, 
my  lords,  his  proceedings  are  equally  void  for  want  of  the-  ballot 
and  the  proper  number  of  jurors  which  that  statute  requires. 

The  third  point  relates  to  the  evidence.  I  feel  the  case  so 
itrong  upon  the  two  views  of  it,  that  I  am  disposed  to  abandon 
Jie  third  to  the  exertions  of  my  learned  colleagues.  In  fact,  tlie 
jnly  evidence  given  of  a  publication  in  Dublin  of  the  matter 
dleged  to  be  libellous  was  the  paper  left  at  the  stamp  office. 
Sow,  the  purpose  of  its  being  left  there  was  merely  to  have  the 
$amp  duties  calculated  and  paid.  It  was  not  left  there  for  any 
.ither  purpose  of  information — not  that  the  columns  should  be 
/cad  or  communicated  to  others.  Can  this  be  called  a  publica- 
tion ?  I  admit  it  proves  proprietorship ;  but  suppose — and 
ipon  the  present  evidence  you  are  bound  to  suppose — Uiat  only 
jhe  one  paper  which  was  sent  to  the  stamp  office  to  have  the 
luties  ascertained,  was  printed,  could  you  call  that  a  publication 
if  a  libel  in  Dublin  ?  I  submit  that  would  be  carrying  the  doc- 
?rine  of  constructive  publication  farther  than  it  has  yet  been , 
irid  the  court  will  not,  I  trust,  make,  in  a  criminal  case,  any  de- 
cision so  unfavourable  to  the  liberty  of  the  subject. 

I  conclude  with  conjuring  the  court  not  to  sanction  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  Attorney-General  in  this  case ;  for,  supposing 
ind  admitting  that  it  did  not  originate  in  improper  motives,  it 
paay  lead  to  improper  conduct  in  future  law  officers.  I  mean 
not  to  make  an  unnecessary  charge  upon  the  present  law  otficert 
of  the  crown ;  but  if  the  court  determines  this  case  against  mj 
client,  they  will  enable  a  future  attorney-general  to  change  hi 
jury  as  often  as  he  pleases,  until  he  shall  procure  one  suited  to 
his  purposes  :  whilst,  by  the  same  construction,  the  subject  will 
be  deprived  of  all  chance  of  a  fair  and  impartial  trial,  by  being 
deprived  of  the  large  number  to  select  from — the  knowledge  of 
their  character  and  situations  in  life  in  time  to  prepare  his  chal- 
lenges, and  the  fair  chance  of  having  the  best  men  in  the  panel 
on  the  jary ;  all  precious  advantages,  to  which  every  subject  ^ho 
has  property  to  the  amount  of  £10  at  stake  is  clearly  entitled. 


DANIEL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  o91 


PRESENTATION  CUP  TO  MR.  O'CONXELL. 

In  reference  to  the  subject  of  popular  compliments  to  Mr.  O'Connell,  it  will  save  time  to 
Insert  here  the  following  publication  from  the  Dublin  Evening  Post  of  January  18,  1814  :— 

"  Daniel  O'Connell,  Esq.,  at  his  house  in  Merrion-squaro,  was  this  day,  January  14,  18K, 
^resented  with  a  silver  cup,  accompanied  with  the  following 

«  ADDRESS. 

"  «  SIR  —  Please  to  accept  from  the  manufacturers  of  the  Liberty  of 
Hie  City  of  Dublin,  a  silver  cup  as  a  token  of  their  confidence  and 
esteem.  It  is  but  the  widow's  mite  ;-  yet  they  hope  not  less  accept- 
able, aa  it  overflows  with  their  affections. 

••  «  They  value  equally  your  private  worth,  and  public  transcendent 
fcUities,  evinced  on  all  occasions  for  tlie  good  of  our  common  country. 
"  «  May  your  days  be  long  and  happy  in  your  honourable  professional 
ftirsuits—  so  as  your  children's  children  may  unite  in  greeting  you  with 
Sirs,  for  having  handed  down  to  posterity,  unsullied,  those  virtues  and 
talents  which  we  all  so  much  admire. 

"  «  We  are  with  respect,  your  faithful  humble  Servants, 

"  «  J.  TALBOLT. 
«  *  C.  DOWDALL.' 

«  ANSWER. 

«  «  FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN-  -You  make  me  very  proud  ;  you  make  me 
very  vain.  You  call  this  the  token  of  your  esteem  and  your  confidence  : 
you  offer  it  a*  the  pledge  of  your  affections!  My  Insh  heart  swells 
\\l\i  i»teful  acknowledgments.  It  prizes  your  gift  beyond  all  that 

^low  Gy  do°  yoV^ate  me  I  I  have  not  talents,-!  have  not 
*rvices-but  I  have  a  heart  devoted  to  the  civil  and  religious  liberties 
rf  our  common  country.  Your  kindness  confirms  and  exalts  that  dcvo- 
dor  and  sooner  shall  my  heart  cease  to  vibrate  than  forsake  the  cau»e 
?f  c^tramUordiality,  or  abandon  the  wish  and  the  hope  /or  the 
•.'-establishment  of  the  independence  of  Ireland.  widow's 

«  <  You  compare  the  situation  of  your  manufactures  to  the  i  w  Uow  s 
state  Alas'  your  country  is  widowed  too!  Manufactures  and  fiee- 

national 


e 


"^MTgratituae  to  the  manuf^turers  will  be  best  enn«£  U  'I  *n 


392  SELECT  SPEECHES  07 

*  '  To  hold  a  place  in  your  esteem,  confidence,  and  affection,  and  to 
uerit  it  by  the  honesty  of  my  wishes  for  the  welfare  of  our  country,  is  tho 
Srst  ambitirn,  fellow-countrymen,  of  your  devoted  and  grateful  Servant, 

" «  DANIEL  O'CONNELL.'  " 

The  cup  in  question  is  a  very  handsome  one,  and  reflects  great  credit  upon  the  taste  and 
ridll  of  the  Irish  artist  and  fabricators. 

On  the  occasion  of  receiving  it,  Mr.  O'Connell,  in  allusion  to  the  then  subsisting  custom 
of  toast-giving,  declared  that  no  toast  should  ever  be  drunk  ont  of  it  sore 

"  THE   REPEAL  OF  THE   CXIOV  !" 

It  Is  a  melancholy  thing  to  reflect  upon,  that  low  and  poverty-stricken  as  wa=  the  c>*ndi- 
tionof  that  extensive  district  entitled  •'The  Liberty"  of  Dublin  City,  it  has  long  since 
fallen  much  lower,  and,  indeed,  declined  into  utter  ruin.  The  time  is  many  years  ago  KOII« 
by,  vhen  such  a  presentation  could  be  repeated  as  that  which  we  record;  and,  "Tht 
Liberty"  which,  during  the  Irish  Parliament,  was  the  focus  of  active  and  most  remui.era 
Live  manufacturing  employment  of  various  descriptions,  is  now,  and  bus  for  a  long  t  'me 
taeu  known,  only  as  the  focus  of  the  last  and  uttermost  wretchedness  and  helpless  destitu- 
tion. 


ILLEGAL  SOCIETIES. 

/he  following  speech  of  Mr.  0  Council's,  was  delivered  on  the  very  last  day  of  the  year 
.611:- 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Catholic  B.«rd,  at  the  Shakspeare  Gallery,  Friday,  3Ist  Dec,  Mr- 
O'GORXAV  in  the  Chair, 

MR.  O'CONNELL  rose  to  make  his  promised  motion  on  the  sub- 
ject of  illegal  associations.  Ho  said  that  the  importance  of  the 
subject  he  had  to  introduce  should  serve  as  an  excuse  for  want 
of  method.  The  miseries  of  Ireland  pressed  too  heavily  on  the 
heart  not  to  exclude  every  other  consideration. 

It  required  no  authority  to  prove  that  Ireland  had  been 
wretched  almost  beyond  the  lot  of  humanity.  Her  sufferings 
were  known  where  they  were  not  felt — in  England.  The  present 
Lord  Sidmouth,  then  Mr.  Addiugton,  in  one  of  the  Union  debates, 
had  said,  "that  in  the  six  hundred  years  since  the  reign  of 
Henry  II.,  there  had  been  more  unhappiness  in  Ireland  than  in 
any  other  civilised  nation  not  actually  under  the  visitation  of 
pestilence  or  internal  war.  There  was  neither  prosperity,  nor 
tranquillity,  nor  safety."  Such  was  the  representation  made 
before  the  Union,  and  it  was  now  confessed  by  everybody,  thut 
the  Union  had  not  diminished  our  calamities. 

It  was  beyond  the  present  question  to  consider  the  causes  of 
the  miseries  of  Ireland.  They  were  either  too  remote,  or  too 
obvious,  to  justify  any  lengthened  commentary.  But  the  effl-cU 
of  her  wretchedness  were  daily  exhibit*!  in  various  wild  and 
frightful  forms. 


DANIEL  O'COXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  393 

Amongst;  these  effects  stood  prominent  the  tendency  of  the 
people  to  form  combinations  and  secret  associations.  The  law 
of  nature  which,  during  evaporation,  gave  a  form  to  the  crystal, 
was  not  more  powerful  than  the  moral  influence  that  tended  t<j 
connect  in  bonds  almost  indissoluble  the  children  of  misfortune. 
Under  various  fantastic  denominations,  the  Irish  people  classed 
themselves  together  in  societies,  some  of  which  still  exist,  but 
many  had  left  little  trace,  save  their  names,  their  crimes,  and 
the  graves  of  their  victims. 

There  had  been,  or  were,  "  White  Boys,"  and  "  Right  Boys" 
— "  Caravats"  and  "  Shana vests" — "  Thrashers"  and  "  Carders" 
—"Hearts  of  Steel"  —  "  Peep-o'-Day  Boys"— '-'Defenders" — 
"Orangemen"  and  "Ribbonmen" — and,  above  and  different  from 
all,  "  United  Irishmen." 

The  immediate  causes  that  had  produced  those  associations 
were  of  two  different  kinds.  The  associations  had  two  distinct 
characters.  The  first  cause  and  character  were  to  be  traced  to 
the  oppressions  of  tithe-jobbers  and  land-jobbers ;  and  to  this 
class  belonged  the  "  White  Boys,"  "Right  Boys,"  "Caravats," 
"  Shanavests,"  "Thrashers,"  and  "Carders."  The  second  cause 
and  character  were  easily  discerned  in  religious  animosity  and 
rancour,  and  to  this  class  belonged  the  "Hearts  of  Steel,"  "Peep- 
o'-Day  Boys,"  "  Defenders,"  "  Orangemen,"  and  "  Ribbonmen." 
The  last,  and  the  "  Defenders,"  were  exclusively  Catholic — the 
other  three  exclusively  of  the  different  Protestant  persuasions. 

As  to  the  United  Irishmen,  they  were  not  peculiar  to  either 
sect,  but  endeavoured  to  embrace  all  sects,  and  to  include  the 
Yiartizans  of  all  classes,  and  amongst  the  United  Irishmen  there 
had  been  found  men,  led  away  by  the  vain  desire  of  republican 
institutions— men  who,  however  mistaken,  may  be  admitted, 
now  that  the  storm  has  long  since  ceased,  to  have  been  actuated 
hv  pure,  though  erroneous,  love  for  Ireland. 
*  The  evils  which  created  the  first  class  belong  not  to  any  of 
the  objects  for  which  this  Board  assembles.  They,  however,  de- 
serve and  require  the  greatest  attention  from  the  legislature  aa d 
crovernment :  they  exist  in  the  actual  state  of  society  in  Ireland 
-hi  the  exactions  of  the  tithe-farmers  and  tithe-proctors— in  the 
natural  rapacity  of  land-owners,  excited  by  a  limited  market,  and 
:i  multitude  of  Udders. 

These  evils  are  aggravated,  too,  by  the  laws  which  enabl, 
budlord  to  dispense  with  any  personal  confidence  m  the  tenant 
Tiu  statute  taw  has  done  much  to  aggravate  the  eml;  foe  laws 
made  by  landlords  :  they  lave  Droved  the  yocecdmgs  t*5 


394  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

replevin,  and  ejvtment,  until  *he  landlord  may,  with  perfect  ease, 
first  s'.rip  t/ie  tenant,  who  ha*  assumed  too  high  a  rent,  of  all  his 
pr>jpcrty%  and  then  evict  him  from  the  land. 

TV,  restore  the  common  law  in  these  particulars  would  much 
tend  to  quiet  the  country ;  but  no  efficient  remedy  will  ever  he 
adopted  by  a  distant,  and  ill-informed  and  mis-informed  legisla- 
ture ;  and  these  evils  will  continue  until  Ireland  shall  have  a 
resident  parliament,  instructed  in  the  facts,  and  interested  in 
the  results.  Perhaps  the  period  of  such  a  parliament  is  remote, 
but  in  it  are  centred  all  my  hopes  of  permanent  tranquillity  for 
Ireland. 

The  class  of  combiuators  on  the  score  or  under  the  pretence 
of  religion  is  that  which  should  engage  our  attention  at  present ; 
the**  religious  animosities  are  terrible  and  degrading,  but  they 
bring  with  them  this  consolation,  that  they  are  easy  of  remedy. 
They  exist  only  at  the  pleasure  of  the  administration  :  the  go- 
venrucnt,  when  it  pleases,  can  terminate  their  course,  and  it 
will  r i main  at  the  discretion  of  the  ministry  to  put  a  period  to 
religious  dissensions,  unless,  indeed,  the  Orange  fkctitn  shall  be 
so  long  fostered  as  to  grow  too  strong  for  the  persons  who  have 
nourished  it,  and  to  become  too  powerful  for  the  legitimate  au- 
thorities of  the  state.  That  period  is  still  distant ;  and  now  by 
the  expression  of  a  single  wish,  the  government  could  extinguish 
religious  factions  in  Ireland  for  ever.  The  Orange  system  exists 
only  because  it  has  the  countenance  of  the  administration,  and 
if  that  system  ceased,  religious  animosities  would  vanish. 

To  understand  the  nature  of  the  associations  on  the  score  of 
religious  differences,  it  is  necessary  to  recur  briefly  to  their  history. 

The  "  Hearts  of  Steel"  and  "  Peep-o'-Day  Boys"  were  Protes- 
»nt  associations  fur  the  oppression  of  the  Roman  Catholics. 
They  existed  only  in  the  northern  province.  The  "  Peep-o'-Day 
Boy»w  associated  principally  in  the  county  of  Armagh;  their 
first  object  was  to  prevent  the  Roman  Catholics  from  having 
trms.  They  attacked  the  houses  of  Roman  Catholics  early  iu. 
the  morning — taking  name  from  this  circumstance — and  deprived 
the  Catholics  of  arms.  When  the  arms  were  quietly  sun-en- 
deied,  the  assa^ants  usually  did  no  further  injury,  but  any  ro- 
sistanee  provered  vengeance ;  and  resistance  was  natural,  and, 
being  sometirjeti  successful,  became  frequent ;  thence  bloodshed, 
and  the  repetition  of  attacks  and  outrages. 

The  Roman  Catholics,  assailed  by  the  "  Peep-o'-Day  Boys," 
without  the  slightest  colour  of  law,  and  without  any  original 
provvoation  on  their  pans,  formed  themselves  into  counter  «*• 


DANIEL  O'OorTJTELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  395 

sociations,  under  the  descriptive  name  of  "Defenders :"  and  from 
the  year  1791  to  the  year  1795,  a  village  warfare,  a  feud  of  un- 
mitigated barbarity,  pervaded  a  great  part  of  Ulster,  between 
the  two  nval  and  illegal  parties— the  «  Peep-o'-Dav  Boys"  and 
the  "  Defenders." 

In  the  year  1795  a  material  alteration  took  place  in  one  o* 
the  parties.  Several  battles  had  taken  place  in  that  year,  in 
which  the  "Peep-o'-Day-Boys,"  though  inferior  in  numbers,  were 
infinitely  superior  in  discipline  and  arms,  and  were  consequently 
successful.  Their  views  enlarged  :  the  total  extirpation  of  the 
Catholics  from  Armagh,  if  not  from  Ulster,  became  a  probable 
expectation  ;  and  the  name  of  "  Peep-o'-Day-Boys"  yielded  its 
place  to  the  system,  regularity,  and  superior  station  of  "Orange- 
men." A  regular  organization  was  planned  and  effectuated  by 
bigots  of  a  superior  rank  and  order.  A  feeble  imitation  of  free- 
masonry lent  something  of  mysticism,  and  much  of  regularity,  to 
the  Orange  lodges. 

1  had  from  a  militia  officer,  a  friend  of  mine,  the  detail  of  the 
initiation  of  an  Orangeman.  The  gentleman  1  allude  to  was 
allowed,  by  mistake,  to  be  present  in  an  Orange  lodge,  in  the 
county  of  Wexford,  when  two  Orangemen  were  made.  The  oere- 
mony  contained  an  analogy  to  the  facts  related  in  the  seventh 
and  eighth  chapters  of  Judges,  and  the  password  was,  "The  sword 
of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon  !" 

The  Orangemen  were  the  300  selected  by  divine  inspiration 
from  the  immense  multitude — the  32,000  who  originally  formed 
the  camp  of  the  Israelites  ;  and  as  those  300  were  composed,  by 
the  directions  of  the  Most  High,  of  the  men  who  lapped  water 
out  of  their  hands,  without  kneeling  to  drink  at  the  running 
stream,  so  this  chosen  few  of  the  Orangemen  were  designated  as, 
"  the  men  who  lap  and  do  not  kneel  1"  And  distinct  allusions 
were  made  to  a  different  liquor  for  Orangemen  than  water — a 
liquor  to  be  famished  by  the  kneeling  and  superstitious  Papists ! 
The  oaths  were  administered  with  much  solemnity,  and  the  secret 
signs  communicated :  and  the  newly-initiated  were  reminded  that, 
with  so  small  a  number,  Gideon  had  brought  confusion  and  de- 
etruction  on  the  numerous  host  of  the  Midianites !  The  Orange 
men  became  thus  the  chosen  of  the  Lord,  and  the  Papists  were 
the  Midianites  doomed  to  destruction. 

1  have,  I  confess,  sometimes  been  amused  at  the  happy  apt> 
tude  of  the  hideous  allegory.  The  chosen  few,  with  Gideon, 
were  successful,  not  by  force  or  bravery,  but  because  they  intro- 
duced discord  and  dissension  in  the  camp  of  tb**r  enemies.  The 


396  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Midianites  turned  against  each  other  their  own  swords,  and  thus 
the  Orangemen  excite  strife  and  dissension  among  the  Catholics, 
and  place  their  best  hopes  of  success  in  our  wretched  di/erences 
and  squabbles  I 

And  there  are  some  Catholics,  perhaps,  who  would  co-operate 
in  the  hateful  purpose ;  but  the  number  is  few,  and  the  Orange- 
men must  be  disappointed,  because  there  never  was  a  period  in 
Irish  history  when  so  much  congenialty  of  sentiment  prevailed 
amongst  the  Irish  Catholics. 

The  first  design  of  the  Orangemen  was  the  extirpation  of  the 
Catholics  from  Ulster  :  nor  was  this  design  confined  to  mere 
speculation.  Out  of  the  county  of  Armagh  alone,  more  than 
seven  hundred  families  were  banished  by  the  Orangemen  ; — 
their  properties  were  destroyed ;  their  houses  levelled  or  burned ; 
the  lives  of  all  endangered ;  some  of  them  murdered,  and  the 
survivors  driven  from  their  farms,  and  compelled  to  quit  the 
province.  Had  they  committed  any  crime  f  Had  they  been 
guilty  of  any  offence  1  Yes,  they  had  :  they  were  Roman  Ca- 
tholics. Nothing  more ;  but  that  was  sufficient :  they  were 
Roman  Catholics. 

This  is  the  first  grand  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Orangemen 
In  the  audacity  of  falsehood,  this  fact  may  be  denied,  and  the 
person  who  asserts  it  may  be  treated  as  a  calumniator.  But 
this  is  a  fact  of  which  there  is,  fortunately,  the  most  unquestion- 
able evidence.  There  is  the  testimony  of  Lord  Gosford,  the 
governor  of  the  county  of  Armagh — testimony  given  publicly  at 
a  meeting  of  the  magistrates  of  that  county,  convened  by  him  on 
the  28th  of  December,  1795.  He  there  stated,  "  that  this  ban- 
ditti," as  he  called  them,  "had  commenced  and  carried  on  a  per- 
secution of  atrocious  cruelty  ;  that  they  spared  neither  age,  nor 
sex,  nor  innocence  ;  that  neither  ancient  nor  modern  history 
could  supply  an  example  of  the  ruin  and  misery  inflicted  by  the 
Orangemen  ;  and  he  added — let  this,  I  pray,  be  marked  well— 
"  that  the  only  crime  of  the  wretched  objects  of  this  ruthless  per- 
secution was,  a  profession  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  or  an  in 
timato  connexion  with  a  person  of  that  faith  !" 

Such  was  the  testimony  of  a  Protestant  nobleman,  resident  01. 
the  spot,  an  eye-witness  of  what  he  described  ;  and  he,  too,  a  man 
of  strong  anti- Catholic  feelings.  The  evidence  of  Mr.  Grattan, 
also,  at  the  same  period,  may  be  adduced.  In  parliament,  he 
painted  the  origin  of  Orangeism — he  detailed  the  first  persecution 
of  the  Catholics  b^  the  Orangemen — "  Those  insurgents,  "said  Mr. 
Grattan,  "call  themselves  Orangemen,  or  Protestant  Boys — that 


DAJSIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  397 

is,  a  banditti  of  murderers,  committing  massacre  in  the  name  of 
God  r  Such  was  the  language  of  Mr.  Grattan — such  was  the  evi- 
dence of  Lord  Gosford  ;  and  thus  is  the  cardinal  fact  of  the  com- 
mencement of  Orangeism,  and  its  mischievous  and  murderous 
origin,  placed  beyond  a  doubt. 

From  such  a  beginning  the  spirit  of  the  Orange  institution 
may  be  easily  collected.  Its  history  in  Ireland  is  written  in 
tetters  of  blood,  from  its  first  murders  in  Armagh  to  its  innocent 
and  almost  praiseworthy  manslaughter  of  the  present  year  in  the, 
streets  of  Belfast.  ' 

It  is  said  that  the  original  plan  of  extermination  was  soon 
abandoned — that  it  was  softened  down  to  perpetual  slavery  and 
degradation  ;  that  Catholics  are  to  be  allowed  to  live,  provided 
they  are  quiet  and  tractable  slaves.  The  rebellion  in  which  the 
United  Irishmen  had  engaged  drove  some  men  of  a  milder  tone 
and  temper  into  the  Orange  associations,  and  they  are  said  to 
have  assumed  something  less  of  persecution;  but  the  living  prin- 
ciple of  exclusion  and  reproach  still  remains,  and  cannot  but  bring 
forth  fruits  of  bitterness  and  oppression. 

In  1800,  anew  organization  of  the  Orange  lodges  took  place, 
and,  with  more  regularity,  less  zeal  was  exhibited.  The  system 
languished  after  the  Union,  and  was  decaying  fast,  and  strong 
hopes  were  entertained  that  it  would  sink  into  oblivion,  when, 
m  an  ill-starred  hour,  Ireland  was  handed  over  to  the  legal  ad- 
visers of  the  secretaries  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  and  in  the 
year  1808,  Orangeism,  patronised  and  revived  again,  displayed 
its  horrid  front,  to  affright  and  desolate  the  land.  The  great 
patron  of  this  revival  was  made  a  privy  councillor — the  Orange 
processions,  insults,  tumults,  and  murders  ensued.  I  need  not 
remind  you  of  the  unpunished  massacre  of  Caharnashegagh; 
need  not  recal  to  recollection  the  introduction  of  this  system  into 
the  county  of  Donegal,  where  it  had  been  theretofore  unknown. 
But  I  am  compelled  to  lead  you  to  that  fact,  because  it  is  there 
that  the  origin  of  the  Ribbonmen  is  to  be  found. 

The  county  of  Donegal  is  one  of  the  most  Catholic  counties  in 
Ireland  :  almost  all  the  peasantry  in  that  county  are  Catholics. 
Like  the  other  two  greatest  Catholic  counties,  Gal  way  and  Kerry, 
neither  disaffection  nor  disturbance  were  found  there  during  the 
rebellion  ;  and,  as  in  the  latter  counties,  so  in  Donegal,  the 
Orange  institution  was  unknown  until  the  year  1809,  when,  in 
the  Richmond  administration,  it  was  introduced  into  that  county, 
one  scarcely  knows  why,  unless  as  part  of  a  general  plan. 
Orange  processions  were  established  \  the^ people,  insulted  and 


398  SELfcCT  SPOTOHES  OP 

outraged,  were  easily  induced  to  apprehend  greater  evils :  they 
saw  110  reason  why,  during  a  profound  and  long-continued  tran- 
quillity, their  religion  should  bo  vilified  and  insulted,  and  their 
persons  exposed  to  danger  and  outrage.  They  imagined  that 
the  Orange  Society  was  sanctioned  by  the  law,  as  they  saw  it  re- 
main unrestrained  and  unpunished.  They  resolved  to  form  a 
counter-association,  similar  in  plan  and  form  to  the  Orange  As- 
sociation, to  be  exclusively  of  Roman  Catholics,  and  to  be  confined 
merely  to  the  purposes  of  defence  against  the  attacks  of  the 
Orangemen.  The  Roman  CathoUcs  of  the  county  of  Donegal 
did  therefore  associate  under  the  denomination  of  Ribbohmen  ; 
and  several  anti-Orange  or  Ribbon  Societies  were  soon  formed. 

The  Ribbonmen,  like  the  Orangemen,  were  bo'ind  together  by 
oaths  of  secrecy  and  co-operation.  Like  the  Orangemen,  they 
had  their  secret  articles  annexed  to  their  oaths ;  like  the  Orange- 
men, they  were  organized  in  lodges,  having  a  master  and  a  de- 
puty-master, a  secretary,  and  three  committee  men  to  each 
lodge.  The  Orangemen,  have,  indeed,  five  committee  men  to 
each  regular  lodge — the  Ribbonmen  were  content  with  three. 
As  the  Orange  violences  in  the  counties  neighbouring  to  Donegal 
became  more  frequent,  the  Ribbon  Societies  extended.  About 
two  years  ago  they  formed  a  regular  Grand  Lodge,  still  imitating 
the  Orangemen,  which  was  composed  of  nine  grand  officers,  and 
held  its  sittings  in  Derry.  From  this  Grand  Lodge,  there  were, 
I  am  told,  more  than  ninety  lodges  affiliated  ;  and  it  is  said 
that  in  the  space  of  six  months  upwards  of  twenty  thousand  men 
between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty,  had  been  sworn  in  as 
members  of  this  association !  Such  was,  as  I  am  informed, 
the  state  of  the  Ribbon  Society  in  the  month  of  June,  and  it 
WHS  then  rapidly  extending  itselfinto  the  more  southern  countiei 
of  Ulster. 

I  have  great  pleasure  in  adding,  that  the  address  published  by 
the  Catholic  Board,  in  June  last,  had  the  most  powerful  effect 
in  putting  a  stop  to  the  meeting,  and,  I  am  assured,  it  induced 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Ribboumen  to  resign  its  functions. 
Those  who  were  before  the  most  active  partizans  of  the  system 
have  since  exerted  themselves  with  energy  and  success  to  suppresr 
its  lodges.  The  system  has  been  broken  up,  and  unless  the  re- 
novated activity  of  Oraugeism  shall  give  it  new  life  (of  which 
there  is  much  reason  to  be  apprehensive),  the  Ribbon  Society 
will  shortly  be  at  an  end  for  ever. 

I  have  not  stated  the  oaths  by  which  this  society  was  bound 
Those  oaths  were,  1   understand,  three  times  uttor^J      At    fi-st 


DAJHRL  O'OONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  39'J 

the  Ribbpnmen's  oath  commenced  with  a  direct,  positive,  and 
unconditional  oath  of  allegiance.  They  also  swore  to  assist  in 
the  defence  of  the  Catholic  clergy  and  laity  against  the  attacks 
of  Orangemen,  and  an  oath  of  secrecy  as  to  what  was  to  be  pri- 
vately communicated  to  them  was  added.  This  oath  was  soon 
altered  ;  and  in  its  place  was  substituted  an  oath  resembling 
almost  exactly  the  Orange  oath.  It  began  with  an  oath  of  alle^ 
giance  to  the  king,  his  heirs  and  successors,  so  long  as  he  and 
they  should  protect  the  Catholic  clergy  and  laity  of  Ireland  from 
the  illegal  violence  of  schismatics,  heretics,  and  Orangemen ;  and 
it  then  continued  and  concluded  as  the  former  oath.  The  third 
oath  and  that  latterly  adopted,  was  diflcrent  from  the  former  in 
nothing  else,  as  I  am  informed,  than  in  omitting  altogether  the 
part  that  related  to  allegiance  to  the  king. 

Such,  according  to  my  information,  is  the  short  histoiy  of  the 
Society  of  Ribbonmeu.  This  society  owed  its  origin  to  the 
Orangemen.  Its  decay  was  the  work  of  the  Board.  But  the 
Orangemen  are  again  on  the  alert.  The  resemblance  in  colour 
and  name,  for  in  nothing  else  are  they  like  to  the  patriots  in  Hol- 
land, has  filled  the  Irish  bigots  with  fresh  hopes  and  renovated 
fury.  In  the  north,  they  indulge  in  excesses  almost  as  ridiculous 
as  they  are*  illegal.  A  festival  of  three  days,  an  Orange  boven 
of  half  a  week,  lias  been  lately  celebrated  in  Deny.  Under  the 
ludicrous  pretence  that  it  was  necessary  to  bless,  with  the  Orange 
flag,  the  first  stone  of  a  new  court-house,  a  three-days'  festival 
was  celebrated,  sufficient  to  remind  the  poor  Catholics  of  Deny 
of  the  Spartan  solemnities,  during  which  it  was  permitted  to  in- 
flict e\  ;?ry  cruelty  on  the  wretched  helots. 

The  consequences  of  this  most  absurd  carnival,  at  which  baro- 
nets and  bishops,  sheriffs  and  clergymen,  magistrates  and  mobs 
joined  in  revelry,  may  be  a  revival  of  the  Ribbon  lodges.  At- 
tempts have  been  made,  I  am  told,  to  revive  them,  even  before 
this  festival ;  and  unless  a  strong  impression  be  now  made  of  the 
illegality  and  impolicy  of  those  lodges,  there  is  reason  to  appre- 
hend that  they  will  once  more  multiply. 

The  people  will  readily  listen,  however,  to  us,  as  they  have 
done  before.  They  know  we  are  actuated  by  no  motive  but  the 
pure  and  disinterested  desire  to  obtain  for  them  relief,  in  the 
only  way  that  relief  can  or  ought  to  be  obtained — according  to 
the  constitution.  We  who  are  honoured  with  popular  con- 
fidence, only  because  we  have  deserved  it — we  will  easily  per- 
suade the  people  to  avoid  violating  the  law,  or  exposing  them- 
selves, as  they  must  do,  if  they  continue  in  'hose  associations, 


400  SELECT   SPEECHES  OF 

*o  the  treachery  of  their  pretended  friends,  and  to  the  persecu- 
tions of  their  open  enemies.  We  will  point  out  to  the  people 
that  these  illegal  societies  expose  them  to  certain  punishment  ; 
that  no  useful  result  can  possibly  arise  from  them  ;  that  the 
individuals  who  belong  to  them  will  be  prosecuted,  and  the 
Catholic  body  disgraced  by  their  continuance,  whilst  the  very 
existence  of  those  societies  will  serve  as  a  pretext  and  excuse  for 
the  Orangemen  to  continue  their  outrages.  It  will  gratify  their 
appetite  for  vengeance,  and  disappoint  the  hopes  and  wishes  of 
the  individuals  of  this  Board,  who  are  looking  for  Emancipation 
through  the  legitimate  channels  of  the  constitution.  In  short, 
the  Orangemen  will  be  gratified  and  delighted  by  the  continu- 
ance of  those  associations  ;  whilst  the  real  friends  of  Ireland, 
who,  amidst  danger  and  calumny,  have  continued  to  advocate 
the  Catholic  cause,  must  retire  in  disgust  and  despair,  if  the 
people  will  not  abandon  all  illegal  societies. 

That  the  Ribbon  Society  is  illegal  is  easily  proved  by  a  refer- 
ence to  the  statute  book.  The  statute  of  the  50th  of  the  King, 
chapter  102,  includes  almost  every  possible  case  of  an  associa- 
tion bound  together  by  any  solenm  oath  or  engagement.  The 
oath  is  illegal,  if  the  person  taking  it  be  bound  to  any  associa- 
tion, brotherhood,  committee,  society,  or  confederacy  whatsoever, 
formed,  or  to  be  formed,  for  any  seditious  purpose,  or  to  disturb 
the  peace,  or  to  injure  persons  or  property,  or  to  obey  any  com- 
mander, officer,  or  leader,  or  to  obey  any  committee,  or  the  or- 
ders, rules,  or  commands  of  any  committee,  or  other  body  of 
men,  or  to  assemble  at  the  desire  or  command  of  any  such  per- 
son or  persons,  or  not  to  give  evidence  against  any  brother  asso- 
ciate, or  for  various  other  purposes  mentioned  in  the  statute. 

Now,  it  is  very  clear  that  an  organised  association  such  as  the 
Ribbonmen,  must  be  bound,  by  import  of  its  engagement,  to  as- 
semble at  the  command  of  some  superior,  and  to  obey  some  rules 
or  orders.  The  Ribbonmen  are,  therefore,  liable  to  punishment 
qnder  this  statute.  The  Orangemen  by  the  sixth  rule  in  their 
secret  articles,  are  bound  to  assemble  at  any  time  when  sum- 
moned by  the  master,  getting  ten  hours'  notice,  or,  if  possible, 
at  any  other  time.  They  are  also  bound  to  obey  all  the  rules 
contained  in  the  ten  secret  articles.  It  is,  therefore,  equally  clear 
that  the  Orangemen  are  within  the  statute  of  the  50th  of  the 
King.  And  upon  an  indictment,  properly  framed  under  that 
statute,  if  the  evidence  of  the  facts  that  really  exist  could  be 
given,  there  is  no  doubt  that  for  every  Ribbonman  and  Orange- 
man sworn  since  the  year  1810,  the  person  who  administered  tho 


DANIEL  OCONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  401 

oath  could  be  transported  for  life,  and  the  Orangeman  or  Ribbon- 
man  who  took  it  could  be  transported  for  seven  years. 

I  am  aware  that  the  Orangemen  run  no  great  risk  of  being  pro- 
secuted. But  the  impunity  of  the  Orangeman  affords  no  great 
protection  to  the  unfortunate  Ribbonmau.  The  Ribbonman  will 
be  only  the  more  certainly  prosecuted  because  of  the  indulgence 
held  out  to  the  Orangemen.  Would  to  God  I  could  see  an  ad- 
ministration in  Ireland  that  would  equally  and  impartially  hold 
out  protection  and  punishment,  according  to  law  and  not  other- 
wise, to  both  parties. 

I  am  very  ready  to  believe ;  nay,  it  is  the  conviction  of  my 
soul,  and  I  loudly  proclaim  it,  that  if  Lord  Whitworth  was  ap- 
prised of  the  real  state  of  those  facts,  he  would  fulfil  the  pledge 
he  has  so  distinctly  given — of  an  equal  and  impartial  adminis- 
tration of  justice.  But  Lord  \Vhit\7orth  is  surrounded  by  men 
who  are  deeply  interested  in  deceiving  him.  The  facts  are  con- 
cealed from  him.  The  truth  is  disguised.  The  Catholics  are 
represented  as  desiring  the  overthrow  of  the  constitution — the 
Orangemen  as  its  supporters.  But  the  truth  is,  that  the  Catho- 
lics most  anxiously  wish  to  see  the  constitution  placed  beyond 
the  possibility  of  danger ;  they  are,  to  a  man  ready  to  die  for 
the  integrity  of  the  empire  and  of  the  constitution.  The  Orange- 
men, on  the  other  hand,  seek  to  control  the  legislature,  and  to 
oppress  their  fellow-subjects,  and  perpetuate  their  slavery;  they 
would  continue  Irishmen  as  slaves,  in  the  name  of  a  constitution 
that  gave  us  freedom  as  a  birthright. 

To  return  to  the  illegality  of  these  associations.  The  Ribbon- 
men  are  liable  to  be  indicted  under  another  statute,  by  the  15th 
and  IGth  of  the  King,  chap.  21,  it  is  declared  to  be  a  high  mis- 
demeanour, punishable  by  fine,  by  imprisonment,  by  whipping, 
for  any  persons  to  assemble,  by  day  or  night,  with  any  unusual 
badge,  or  to  assume  any  particular  name  or  denomination.  The 
Ribbonraen  are  liable  to  punishment  under  this  statute ;  they 
assemble  with  a  badge — a  green  ribbon  ;  they  assume  the  deno- 
mination of  Ribbonmen.  For  either  offence  they  may  be  in- 
dicted and  punished.  It  is  true  that  the  Orangemen  come  ex- 
pressly within  the  provisions  of  the  same  statute — they  assemble 
with  badges  of  orange — they  assume  a  particular  denomination 
— Orangemen.  Under  this  statute  they  may  and  ought  to  be 
iudictocl ;  nay,  I  can  answer  for  it  they  will  be  indicted,  if  the 
Catholics  enable  us,  as  I  am  sure  they  will  enable  us,  to  put  to- 
gether the  funds  necessary  for  carrying  on  those  prosecutions. 
J*ut  oven  the  impunity  of  the  Orangemen  affords  no  prospect  of 


4«JU  ftfcLKCT  SFEEOntb  Ot' 

uafety  for  the  Jlibbonr&eii.  The  Ribbonmen  of  the  North,  like  the 
Whiteboys  of  the  South,  will  experience  the  rigour  of  the  statute, 
although  the  Orangemen  maybe  allowed  to  escape  without  pun- 
ishment,  notwithstanding  the  plain  violation  of  the  Liw ! 

The  duty  of  tho  Board,  under  those  circumstances,  is  to  expose 
to  the  Catholics  oi'  Ulster  the  criminality  and  the  folly  of  engag- 
ing in  any  secret  association,  it  may  be  suggested  that  the 
people  are  driven,  in  their  own  defence  and  by  persecution,  into 
those  combinations.  The  answer  is  ready — the  people  need  not 
be  driven  to  any  such  extremity,  because  for  the  outrages  of  the 
Orangemen  legal  redress  may  be  obtained ;  and  if  the  indivi- 
duals attacked  be  too  poor  to  procure  that  redress  for  themselves, 
the  Board  will  readily  enable  them  to  bring  their  cases  before 
the  public  and  the  courts  of  justice.  We  will  enable  them  to 
seek  for  and  obtain  all  the  redress  that  the  law  can  give  in  such 
case  ;  but  no  man  shall  partake  of  our  assistance  who  will  con- 
tinue any  longer  a  member  of  any  illegal  confederacy  whatsoever. 

Let  what  will  become  of  the  Ribbonmen,  fr»m  us  they  can 
never  expect  countenance  or  support.  But  the  poor  Catholich 
who  have  the  good  sense  to  avoid  any  such  association  shall  be 
certain  of  meeting  pecuniary  and  professional  assistance.  We 
\vill  not  go  to  war  with  the  Orangemen,  however  able  and  willing 
wo  may  be  to  do  so ;  but  we  will  go  to  law  with  them,  and  ex- 
pose their  absurd  pretensions  and  atrocious  cruelties  to  contempt 
and  punishment. 

By  adopting  my  motion  for  another  address  to  the  people, 
you  will  have  an  opportunity  of  again  cautioning  them  against 
being  the  dupes  of  their  own  passions,  or  of  the  artifices  of  their 
cmeinies.  You  will  call  upon  them  to  confide  in  the  laws,  and 
you  will  enahie  them  to  secure  all  the  protection  that  law  can 
give. 

Mr.  O'Connell  concluded  by  moving — That  a  committee  should 
bo  appointed  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  people  cautioning 
thorn  against  illegal  associations. 

Motion  agreed  to  and  the  meeting  adjourned. 


-'ADDRESS  TO  THE  PEOPLE. 

•'FELLOW  COUNTRYMEN  AND  FELLOW  SUFFERERS  ! — The  Genera* 
Board  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  to  whom  you  have  confided 
your  petitions  to  the  legislature,  once  more  address  you. 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESG..,  M.P.  403 

claim  the  continuance  of  your  confidence  only  because  they  feei 
that  they  deserve  it  by  the  zeal  and  purity  of  their  intentions 
and  exertions  in  the  cause  of  your  religion  and  your  country. 

"  Fellow- Country  men,  the  object  of  your  petitions  is  sanc- 
tioned by  justice;  it  is  enforced  by  wisdom;  it  must  be  attained, 
unless  the  artifices  of  your  enemies  shall  triumph  over  justice 
und  wisdom  !  We  say  their  artifices,  because  their  arguments 
Iiave  failed,  and  their  calumnies  are  forgotten  or  despised. 

"  Amongst  their  artifices  we  dread  but  one — it  is  that  whicfc 
has  been  tried  with  success  on  former  occasions — it  is  one  to 
which  you  are  exposed  by  your  situation,  your  sufferings,  and 
your  feelings.  Your  enemies  wish  to  betray  you  into  illegal  asso- 
ciations and  combinations  !  They  wish  to  bring  upon  you  pun- 
ishment, aggravated  by  its  being  merited  ;  and  they  still  more 
earnestly  desire  to  ruin  your  cause  and  that  of  Ireland  ! 

•'Their  emissaries,  become  more  cautious  from  former  detec- 
tion, are  likely  to  assume  deeper  disguise.  It  is  our  duty  to 
expose  to  you  the  evils  which  must  ensue  to  yourselves  and  the 
Catholic  cause  if  you  enter  into  any  illegal  or  secret  combination. 

"  Repeated  acts  of  parliament  have  pronounced  associations 
And  combinations,  for  almost  any  imaginable  purpose,  to  be  ille- 
gal. A  recent  statute,  called  the  50th  of  Geo.  III.  chap.  102, 
besides  more  associations  which  are  plainly  criminal,  as  for  sedi- 
tious purposes,  or  to  disturb  the  public  peace,  has  declared 
every  association,  brotherhood,  committee,  or  society  whatsoever 
to  be  unlawful,  if  formed  to  injure  any  person,  or  the  propert\ 
of  any  person — or  to  compel  any  person  to  do,  or  omit,  or  refuel 
to  do,  any  act  whatsoever.  That  statute  has  also  declared  any  oa# 
or  engagement  to  be  illegal,  which  imports  to  bind  any  person  tt 
obey  the  rules,  or  orders,  or  commands  of  any  committee  or  bod} 
of  men  not  lawfully  constituted ;  or  of  any  captain,  leader,  or 
commander  not  appointed  by  the  king ;  or  binding  any  person? 
to  assemble  at  the  command  of  any  such  captain,  leader,  com 
umnder,  or  committee,  or  of  any  person  not  having  lawful  autho 
rity ;  or  binding  any  person  not  to  inform  nor  give  evidence ;  or 
not  to  reveal  nor  discover  having  taken  any  illegal  oath,  or  hav- 
ing done  any  illegal  act,  or  to  conceal  any  illegal  oath  hereafter 
to  be  taken. 

"  For  inducing  or  procuring,  by  any  means,  the  taking  of  any 
such  oath  or  engagement,  the  punishment  is  transportation  ftr 
Ufe.  He  who  takes  any  such  oath  is  liable  to  transportation  foi 
seven  years ;  and  it  will  not  be  received  as  an  excuse  that  the 
kus  been  compelled,  by  force  or  menace,  to  take  such  oath. 


404  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

unless  he  make  full  discovery  to  a  magistrate  within  seven 
days. 

"  By  another  act  of  parliament,  called  the  15th  and  1  Gth  of  the 
King,  chap.  21,  it  is  made  a  high  misdemeanour,  punishable  by 
pillory  or  whipping,  to  wear  any  particular  badge  or  dress,  or  to 
assume  any  particular  name  or  denomination  of  party. 

"  Recollect,  too,  we  entreat  of  you,  that  not  only  is  it  unlawful 
and  punishable  to  assume  the  name,  or  wear  the  colours  or  badgo 
of  such  an  association,  or  to  take  or  induce  any  person  to  enter 
into  engagement  or  oath  to  belong  thereto ;  but  that  almost 
every  act,  in  pursuance  of  such  oath  or  engagement,  is  made  by 
various  acts  felony  of  death.  Even  to  assault  a  dwelling  house 
(strangely  as  the  phrase  may  sound),  is  a  capital  felony  in  Ire- 
land. And  to  raise  the  arm,  even  without  a  blow,  is  an  assault 
in  law. 

"  So  that  he  who,  in  pursuance  of  the  plans  of  any  such  asso- 
ciation, raises  his  unarmed  hand  against  a  dwelling  house,  may, 
for  that  offence,  be  capitally  convicted  and  suffer  death  1 

"  We  select  this  instance  to  show  you  the  extent  to  which 
capital  punishments  are  applicable  by  law  to  the  consequences 
of  illegal  associations. 

"  Transportation  for  seven  years  is  the  doom  of  him  who  en- 
ters into  any  illegal  association. 

"  Transportation  for  life  is  visited  upon  him  who  induces  an- 
other to  enter  into  an  illegal  association. 

"  And  finally — death  is  the  punishment  of  him  who  does  any 
one  act  in  pursuance  of  the  designs  of  an  illegal  association. 

"Such,  fellow-countrymen,  are  the  punishments  which  the 
law  denounces  against  illegal  associations — whether  they  be 
called  White  Boys  or  Right  Boys,  Thrashers  or  Carders,  Ribbon- 
men  or  Orangemen,  they  all  are  liable  to  puniskment,  and  all  de- 
serve condemnation. 

"  It  is  quite  true  that  some  delinquents  may  escai»o  ;  but  do 
not  flatter  yourselves  that  you  can  be  of  the  fortunate  number. 
If  you  transgress  the  law,  you  will  meet,  as  you  will  deserve,  all 
the  zeal  and  activity  of  prosecution. 

"  Reflect  upon  these  serious  subjects  for  your  consideration. 
If  you  offend  against  the  laws,  what  favour  can  you  hope  ror  ? 
what  favour  have  you  any  grounds  for  expecting  ? 

"  Reflect,  also,  upon  the  inutility  of  these  associations.  What 
utility — what  advantage  of  any  description  has  ever  beeo  de- 
lved from  them  1  None — none  whatsoever  !  No  redress  hub 
ver  been  obtained  by  their  means.  They  have  been  quite 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  4U6 

less !  Nay,  worse,  they  have  always  produced  crimes  ! — robbery, 
outrage,  murder  ! !  ! 

"  And  they  have  uniformly  been  followed  by  numerous  execu- 
tions, in  which  the  innocent  have  been  often  taken  for  and  con- 
founded*  with  the  guilty  ! 

"  Do  you  require  any  other  arguments  to  induce  you  to  refrain 
from  these  associations  ?  Perhaps  you  are  careless  of  your  own 
lives  ?  You  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  blood  of  the  innocent  ! 

"  There  is.  however,  another  inducement  to  refrain :  your  ene- 
mies— the  men  who  would  deny  you  the  poor  privilege  of  wor- 
shipping your  God  as  your  forefathers  have  worshipped — thes« 
men,  all  these  men,  anxiously  desire  that  you  should  form  cri< 
minal  combinations  and  confederations ;  they  want  but  a  pre< 
text  for  framing  laws  still  stronger  and  more  sanguinary  ;  they 
want  but  a  pretext  to  lay  the  heavy  hand  of  power  upon  your 
country  and  your  religion  ! 

"  Your  enemies  seek  to  seduce  or  to  drive  you  into  illegal  as- 
sociations. Your  friends,  the  Catholic  Board,  ardently  desire  to 
prevent  your  forming  any  such  association.  They  conjure  you. 
if  you  confide  in  them,  to  hearken  to  advice  which  can  be  dic- 
tated only  by  their  affectionate  attachment  to  you.  They  con- 
jure you  to  respect  the  laws — to  live  in  peace — to  offer  no 
outrage  nor  injury  to  any  man — to  seek  legal  redress  alone  for 
every  injury  and  outrage  inflicted  on  you. 

"  That  redress  is  and  shall  be,  within  your  reach. 

"  They  beseech  you  to  look  for  relief  from  your  grievances 
only  through  the  lawful  channel  of  petitioning  parliament. 

"And  they  confidently  promise  you,  that  the  wisdom  of  par- 
liament will  speedily  extend  that  relief,  if  you  continue,  by 
peaceable  and  dutiful  conduct,  to  deserve  it ;  to  gratify  your 
friends,  and  disappoint  your  enemies. 

"  So  will  you  aflbrd  us  the  happiness  of  seeing  your  religion 
rescued  from  the  calumnies  and  inflictions  of  centuries  of  perse- 
cution, and  your  countrymen  of  all  classes  and  persuasions  re- 
conciled, coherent,  and  finally  froo  1" 


406  «  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

CATHOLIC    BOARD. 

Saturday,  January  8 

SHAKESPEARE  GALLERY,  EXCHEQUER-STREET, 
MB.  SHERLOCK  in  the  Chair. 

Secretary  read  proceedings  of  former  meeting. 

Mr.  O'Connell,  from  the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  an  adores*  "to  the  northert 
Catholics  concerning  illegal  tocietttt,  stated  the  address  waa  not  i-eady,  and,  on  uiotion,  got 
luivc  to  sit  again  till  the  next  Saturday. 

Mr.  Lawless  asked  the  secretary  if  the  resolution  for  printing  Mr.  Lidwell's  speech  !iaJ 
seen  acted  on. 

Secretary  replied  it  had  not 

Mr.  Lawless  having  said  he  would  more  for  the  printing. 

Mr.  Mahon  saw  no  necessity  for  the  motion. 

Mr.  O'Connell  suggested  to  Mr.  Lawless  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  hart  the 
•peech  printed.  It  was  the  best  speech  he  had  ever  heard,  and  a  copy  ought  to  be  In  th« 
feuids  of  ever}*  member  of  parliament  before  the  end  of  the  long  adjournment.  4 

Suggestion  adopted,  and  a  committee  of  five  named. 

Lord  Donoughmore  and  Mr.  Qrattan's  letters  having,  on  Mr.  O'Conneh's  motion,  beec 
r«a<l.— 

MR.  O'CONNELL  said,  he  trusted  those  letters  had  made,  and 
would  continue  to  make,  a  deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  the 
Catholics  of  Ireland. 

He  should  judge  of  the  moral  fitness  of  the  Catholic  population 
of  the  land  for  freedom,  by  the  sensation  those  letters  had  created 
and  should  continue  to  create.  Deep,  but  not  loud,  should  be 
the  feelings  of  men  deserving  liberty.  It  belonged  to  the  spirit 
of  philosophic  inquiry  to  trace  out  the  causes  of  which  the  tem- 
per and  tone  of  those  letters  were  the  natural  results :  but  it 
belonged  to  the  dignity  of  philosophic  patriotism  to  bear  with 
this  temper  and  tone  in  patient,  and,  he  may  add,  unrelenting 
calmness. 

For  my  part  (said  he)  I  may,  perhaps  with  the  greatest  justice, 
be  denied  the  praise  of  either  philosophy  or  patriotism  ;  but  in 
treating  of  the  subject  of  those  letters,  and  especially  of  that  of 
the  Earl  ot  Donoughmore,  I  have  another  guide  ;  it  consists  in 
perfect  respect  for  the  purity  of  his  intentions,  and  great  grati- 
tede  for  his  manly,  uncompromising,  unconditional,  unqualiued 
Jlvocacy  of  emancipation.  He  did  not  talk  of  entering  into  any 
traffic  between  a  portion  of  the  liberty  of  the  constitution  and  a 
fragment  of  the  discipline  of  our  Church.  He  did  not  insult  his 
eij«Javed  countrymen  by  supposing  or  admitting,  that  though 
we  were  quiet  whilst  we  were  kept  in  thraldom,  we  should  beer-roe 
riotous,  and  ought  to  be  put  upon  "  wr  tecurities"  the  moment 


DAN[EL  O'CONNKLi,,  ESQ.,  M.P  407 

wo  \vere  liberated.  No,  Sir ;  the  advocacy  of  Lord  Donough- 
more  was  precisely  that  which  the  great  people  whose  cause  he 
was  to  support,  wished  and  wanted.  It  took  right  and  justico 
for  its  lofty  ground,  and  scorned  traffic,  and  barter,  and  compro- 
mise. 

I  repeat,  therefore,  that  Lord  Donoughmore  so  entirely  com- 
mands my  respect  and  gratitude,  that  I  am  in  no  danger  of  sug- 
gesting any  course  respecting  his  letter  inconsistent  with  thoso 
feelings. 

As  to  the  other  letter — that  of  Mr.  G rattan— it  is  not  my 
intention  to  introduce,  with  respect  to  it,  any  proceedings  for 
the  present ;  and  I  am  the  more  inclined  to  refrain,  lest  what  I 
have  said  of  Lord  Donoughmore  should  suggest  any  unpleasant 
contrast.  If  such  contrast  arises,  let  me  not  be  accused  for  it — 
I  make  no  comparisons  ;  and  if,  in  the  nature  of  the  facts,  any 
contrast  arise,  let  the  blame  be  flung  on  the  facts,  and  not  on 
me.  who  am  bound  by  every  argument  supplied  by  my  judgment, 
and  by  every  affection  of  my  soul,  to  prefer — greatly  to  prefer, 
and  to  praise,  indeed  to  praise  exclusively,  the  unconditional, 
unqualified,  uncompromising  advocacy  of  our  rights. 

Such  has  been  the  support  given  to  the  Irish  people  by  the 
Earl  of  Donoughmore,  and  for  that  he  deserves  and  possesses  our 
warmest  hearts. 

With  these  sentiments  towards  our  advocates  we  are  not  to 
forget  ourselves.  Indeed,  those  letters  not  only  make  it  impos- 
sible to  forget,  but  they  open  a  new  view  of  the  state  of  the 
Catholics  of  Ireland  ;  they  have  led  me  to  a  discovery  of  some 
magnitude — they  have  shown  me  distinctly  the  cause  of  many 
appearances  that  I  reckoned  most  monstrous  and  unnatural ;  they 
I  ava  reconciled  me  to  Duigenan,  to  Musgrave,  and  to  Giffard  ; 
they  have  disclosed  to  me  the  source  and  secret  of  their  abuse. 
Vulgar  it  is,  and  coarse  ;  but  then  vulgarity  and  coarseness  are 
scarcely  the  fault  of  the  individuals ;  it  is  to  be  attributed  to  their 
education,  and  habits,  and  tempers.  Had  they  the  education  and 
temper  of  gentlemen  they  would  treat  us  differently  ;  we  should 
have  a  better  style  and  more  courtly  condescension  in  their  re- 
proach, and  even  in  the  calumny  of  their  advice  ;  but  the  prin- 
ciple would  not  be  different  from  that  which  they  act  on  at  pre- 
sent. 

It  is  a  principle  discoverable  and  discovered  by  me,  for  the 
first  time,  in  those  letters.  It  consists  simply  in  the  natural  and 
moral  superiority  which  the  law  imposes  upon  the  Protestant  over 
the  Irish  Catholic.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  natural  and  moral  iu- 


*OS  SELECT  SPEEOnES  OP 

Priority  to  the  Protestant,  which  the  law  inflicts  on  the  Irish 
Catholic.  A  century  of  persecution  commenced  by  the  grossest 
violation  of  the  faith  of  treaties  that  ever  disgraced  the  page  of 
history,  authentic  or  fictitious.  A  century  of  legal  degradation 
has  so  lessened  and  brought  down  the  Irish  Catholics  in  the  eyes 
of  their  Protestant  neighbours,  that  we  are  in  the  scale  of  humanity 
but  dwarfs  compared  with  those  social  giants. 

I  was  long  aware  that  such  was  the  estimate  of  us  in  which 
our  enemies  indulged  ;  but  this  correspondence  was  necessary  in 
order  to  convince  me  that  the  same  prejudice  lurked  in  the  minds 
of  our  friends.  I  flattered  myself  that  wa  had  risen  in  their  esti- 
mation ;  I  did  imagine  we  had  ceased  to  be  whitewashed  negroes, 
and  had  thrown  off  for  them  all  traces  of  the  colour  of  servitude  ; 
but  this  correspondence  has,  1  confess,  done  away  the  delusion. 

Perhaps  they  are  themselves  unconscious  of  this  claimed  su- 
periority— indeed  I  believe  that  they  perceive  it  not — being  a 
matter  of  habit,  and  having  arisen  before  reflection,  and  unaided 
by  reasoning,  it  may  well  happen,  and  I  believe  it  does  happen, 
that  our  friends  nre  themselves  unaware  of  the  judgment  of  in- 
feriority which  has  been  tacitly  passed  upon  us  ;  and  that  when 
they  announce,  as  those  letters  announce,  a  plain  superiority — 
n  superiority  not  as  of  any  assumption  but  as  of  clear  right,  our 
friends  are  themselves  ignorant  of  the  assertion  of  any  such  su- 
periority. In  short,  my  conviction  now  is,  that  the  inferiority 
of  the  Irish  Catholic  resembles  a  species  of  innate  idea  in  the 
minds  of  our  Protestant  friends,  which  remains  there  unaccom- 
panied by  any  distinct  consciousness  of  its  existence. 

Do  the  Catholics  real lyjieserve  this  opinion  of  inferiority?  1 
think  not — I  think  both  their  enemies  and  their  friends  will  soon 
•Acknowledge  their  just  claims  to  equality,  if  the  Catholics  con- 
tinue to  look  to  themselves  and  to  their  own  exertions,  for  their 
*irst  and  best  claim  of  success. 

Conceding  this  superiority  for  the  present,  and  cautiously 
avoiding  to  hurt  its  national  pride,  or  to  provoke  any  other  ex- 
hibition of  its  inherent  dignity,  there  is  yet  one  passage  in  the 
letter  of  the  Earl  of  Donoughmore  which  requires  a  reply  from 
the  Board,  and  one  passage  only.  It  is  that  which  relates  to 
representation  —it  is  that  in  which  the  noble  lord  seems  to 
charge  upon  us  having  assumed  or  exercised  a  representative  ca- 
pacity. 1  feel  at  once  that  this  charge  could  have  originated 
simply  and  singly  in  the  mistake  or  misapprehension  of  the  noble 
lord.  It  cannot  have  any  other  source  whatsoever  than  from 


DANIEL  O'CONXELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  4()9 

misrepresentation  of  the  mode  of  our  association,  or  of  our 
conduct  when  associated. 

But,  admitting  and  proclaiming  the  purity  of  the  motive  of 
making  this  charge  ;  it  is,  however,  even  upon  that  account,  the 
more  imperative  upon  us  to  set  his  lordship  right  upon  the  sub- 
ject. We  owe  it  to  him  to  afford  him  accurate  information  on 
this  interesting  subject.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  the  continuance  of  mistake  or  misapprehension  01 
this  important  subject. 

I  am  confident  I  need  use  no  other  argument  to  induce  the 

Board  to  adopt  my  motion  for  giving  the  noble  lord  precise 

nformation  with  respect  to  our  association,  than  the  manifest 

propriety  of  giving  our  advocate  a  true  view  of  our  situation. 

We  have  too  much  respect  for  him  to  allow  him  to  remain  in 

3ITO1. 

But  there  is  another  and  a  pressing  motive  for  disclaiming 
the  imputed  representation.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  construc- 
tion put  on  the  convention  act  by  our  adversaries.  The}-  have 
procured,  by  their  arguments,  the  decision  that  "  pretence"  and 
"  purpose"  are  synonymous,  and  that  any  persons  who  meet,  no 
matter  under  what  "  pretence" — no  matter  for  what  "  purpose" 
— commit  a  crime  if  they  really  be,  or  assume  to  be,  representa- 
tives. This  decision  establishes  that  the  crime  prohibited  by 
the  statute,  consists  in  "  representation,"  but  in  "  representa- 
tion" alone.  The  pretence  or  purpose  is  immaterial.  The  only 
thing,  said  the  Attorney- General,  and  say  the  judges  of  the 
King's  Bench,  to  be  inquired  into  is,  representative  or  not. 
This  decision  suited  the  purposes  of  the  prosecutor  at  the  time 
it  was  pronounced,  but  it  has  now  become  inconvenient  to  him, 
and  is  certainly  at  this  mon-ent  the  protection  of  the  B^ard  from 
his  attacks.  Our  construction  of  the  statute  would  have  limited 
the  Catholic  committee  to  the  exclusive  consideration  of  a  peti- 
tion. The  only  purpose  should,  according  to  our  construction, 
have  been  petition,  leaving  us,  perhaps,  the  empty  honour  of 
claiming  an  useless  and  almost  ridiculous  title  to  a  representa- 
tive capacity  ;  and  then,  upon  our  own  showing,  and  with  jiir 
own  assent,  the  Attorney- General  would  have  a  right  to  put 
down  the  committee  the  moment  it  departed  from  the  strict  line 
of  mere  patitioners. 

But  our  construction  was  overruled  ;  the  Attorney-General 
was  too  wise  to  adopt  it,  though  it  was  manifestly  the  most  con- 
venient, as  well  as  the  most  constitutional  view  of  the  subiect. 

2  D 


110  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

He  did  not  foresee  that  we  would  divest  the  select  meeting  of 
the  Catholics  of  all  representative  capacity,  and  that  getting  rid 
of  representation,  we  should,  upon  the  Attorney- General's  own 
showing,  and  upon  the  authority  of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench, 
be  entitled  to  discuss  other  subjects  with  as  full  and  strong  a 
right  as  that  of  petition. 

The  result  of  the  prosecution  of  Doctor  Sheridan  and.  Mr. 
Kirwan,  has,  therefore,  been  highly  beneficial  to  us.  It  has 
been  infinitely  more  useful  to  the  Catholic  body  than  if  we  had 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  j  udgment  of  the  court.  Then  our  com- 
mittee must  have  been  confined  within  the  narrowest  limits  of 
preparing  and  foi~warding  petitions,  but  now  we  run  no  risk  o* 
any  indictment  on  the  Convention  Act.  whatever  extent  our  de- 
liberatioub  may  have. 

There  is,  however,  one  precaution — it  is  simply  this,  that  we 
ire  not  to  be,  nor  pretend  to  be,  representatives. 

Allow  me  here  to  protest  against  being  understood  to  say  that, 
as  a  lawyer,  I  conceive  the  construction  put  on  the  statute  by 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench  right.  No  ;  I  certainly  think  the 
court  was  mistaken  ;  and  I  hope  the  first  possible  opportunity 
of  bringing  that  construction  in  review  before  a  superior  tribunal 
will  be  taken  ;  but,  until  it  is  reviewed,  until  it  is  altered,  it  is 
cur  duty  to  submit  to  it,  and  to  acquiesce  in  it.  I  do,  there- 
lore,  cheerfully  submit  to  the  decision,  although  not  convinced 
of  its  accuracy  :  as  the  court  has  no  claim  to  infallibility,  it  is 
liable  to  error. 

But,  submitting  to  its  present  opinion,  it  became  necessary  to 
Avoid  not  only  the  reality,  but  all  appearance  of  representation. 
We  are  not  constituted  upon  any  scheme  of  representation.  We 
never  claimed  any  representative  capacity ;  on  the  contrary, 
we  always  disclaimed  it ;  and  having  it  now  charged  upon  MS 
oy  the  Earl  of  Donoughmore,  we  are  bound  again  to  disclaim 
it,  because  our  silence,  under  such  a  charge,  might  be  construed 
into  an  admission  of  its  justice.  Yes,  upon  legal  principle^ 
ilence  would  now  be  an  admission  of  this  legal  crime ;  and  it  ib 
.carcely  necessary  to  remind  the  meeting  that  the  same  law  offi- 
cer who  plunged  the  Richmond  administration  into  a  warfare  of 
litigation — nor  a  very  wise  one,  I  imagine,  with  the  Catholic 
people — has  every  motive  of  resentment,  of  passion,  of  prejudice, 
and  even  of  interest  to  induce  him,  if  he  can,  to  involve  the  pre- 
sent administration  in  a  similar  silly  contest. 

The  historian  of  human  nature  has  admirably  described  hii 
state  physician  OP  presenting  similar  remedies  tor  all  diseases 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  411i 

FTe  prescribed  bleeding  and  warm  water  for  all  his  patients, 
with  uniform  success.  They  all  died.  The  Sangrado  of  the 
law  is  as  uniform  in  his  prescription  :  it  is  simply  a  state  pro- 
secution, as  a  remedy  for  all  evils.  Prosecute,  prosecute,  is  evei 
on  his  lips. 

He  has  not,  indeed,  been  uniformly  successful ;  nor  has  the 
learned  and  grave  doctor  effected  any  great  political  cures.  But 
he  is  as  sanguine  as  ever  in  his  opinion  of  the  efficacy  of  his 
prescriptions  ;  and  if  this  letter  of  Lord  Donoughmore  remain 
unanswered,  it  will  aftord  the  Attorney- General  a  fair  pretext  for 
what  he  delights  in — a  new  prosecution. 

He  will  be  able  to  read,  as  part  of  his  speech,  two  paragraphs 
from  the  letter ;  and  we  should  have  the  mortification  of  finding 
the  language  of  our  friend  and  advocate  rendered  useful  to  the 
*most  bitter  and  unrelenting  of  our  enemies — the  only  one  of 
our  enemies,  indeed,  who  actively,  and  zealously,  and  from  his 
heart  opposes  us — the  single  individual  whose  passions  and 
whose  conscience — such  is  the  force  of  early  and  hereditary  pre- 
judice— drive  him  to  seek  for  any  prosecutions  that  may  impede 
our  progress.  It  would  be  melancholy — it  would  be  deplorable, 
that  such  a  man  should  be  furnished  with  arguments  against  us 
by  the  Earl  of  Donoughmore!  The  authority  of  that  noble 
lord  ought  to  have  great  weight  with  any  jury ;  and  it  is  pos- 
sible— recollect  that  I  only  say  it  is  possible— that  the  Attorney- 
General  may  find  in  the  "city  of  Dublin  a  jury  sufficiently  dis- 
posed to  convict  us  oil  the  authority  of  Lord  Donoughmore. 

I  speak  with  great  reverence  of  Dublin  juries.  It  is  boasted 
that  they  do  their  duty  gratuitously  ;  but  duty  is  done  as  well 
and  as  zealously  for  love  as  for  money  ;  and  we  ought  to  avoid 
t'ivmo-  them  gratuitous  trouble.  For  the  ease  of  these  juries, 
and  for  our  own  protection,  let  us  respectfully,  but  distinctly, 
disclaim  the  imputation  of  representation  which  the  noble  lord 
has,  by  mistake,  cast  upon  us. 

I  conclude  by  again  referring  this  correspondence  to  the  seri- 
ous consideration  of  the  people  of  Ireland.  Let  them  weigh  it 
well  If  it  meet  disapprobation  amongst  us,  it  has  had  more  than 
enough  of  praise  from  our  enemies.  There  is  not  a  public  writer 
enlisted  against  the  Catholics,  that  has  not  been  decided  in  his 
approbation  of  it.  It  is  certainly  our  duty  to  reply  to  this  para- 
graph There  our  epistolary  intercourse  will  end,  for  our  sug- 
gestions ought  to  be  so  framed  as  not  to  require  any  reply. 
'  Would  to  God  that  I  could  revive  in  the  mind  of  Mr.  Grattan 
Us  former  feelings  for  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  1-that  I  could 


3KLEOT  SPEECHES  OV 

rouse  him  to  that  energy  with  which  he  formerly  advocated  our 
cause. 

What  securities  did  he  ever  speak  of  in  tfie  Irish  Parliament  ? 
What  apprehension  was  about  him  for  the  Established  Church, 
in  the  year  1793,  when  he  obtained  so  much  for  us?  Where 
were  his  alarms  tJien  ?  and  yet  that,  if  ever,  was  the  period  in 
which  the  Established  Church  might  have  been  in  danger.  What 
is  there  in  the  English  air  to  alter  the  mental  vision,  so  that  it 
shall  behold  gorgons,  and  hydras,  and  chimeras  dire,  where  before 
it  saw  nothing  but  the  pleasant  prospect  of  amity,  strength,  and 
social  security  ? 

Would  I  could  conjure  up  the  ghosts  of  the  illustrious  dead 
who  so  often  aided  him  in  his  battle  for  iii?  tiien  own  Ireland ; 
and  amid  the  group  I  would  call  up  the  phantom  of  departed  Ire- 
land herself  to  remind  him  of  what  he  was,  and  what  he  ought  to 4 
be,  unsophisticated  by  the  delusions  of  English  politics. 

In  the  sacred  names  of  the  mighty  dead,  I  would  conjure  him, 
to  return  to  the  grand  and  simple  principle  of  the  right  to  perfect 
liberty  of  conscience  !  Whether  he  succeed  or  fail  in  that  pursuit 
iiis  ancient  glories  will  brighten  in  the  rays  of  these  his  later 
Jiouours  ;  and  he  will  singly  sustain,  in  degenerate  days,  the  con- 
:•  latency,  as  well  as  the  splendour  of  the  first  models  of  Grecian  and 
tioman  virtue  ! 

An  incident  occurred  jiu>t  after  the  termination  of  this  speech  that,  trifling  in  iuclf 
would  yet  supply  tht  key,  were  such  wanting,  to  the  policy  that  has  pervaded  and  marital 
the  public  life  of  the  subject  of  this  work. 

One  of  the  members  of  the  Board  present,  Mr.  B.  Coyle,  drew  Mr.  O'Connell's  attention 
to  a  person  who  wan  taking  note*  of  the  proceedings,  at  a  place  different  from  the  usual 
:<eaU  of  the  reporters;  being  below  the  kind  of  "  bar"  formed  by  a  railing  at  the  end  of 
the  room.  This  person  Mr  Coyle  said  he  believed  to  belong  to  the  police-office. 

The  individual  thus  made  the  object  of  general  attention,  admitted  that  he  was  en- 
ployed  by  the  police  authorities,  and  said  "  that  he  acted  solely  by  the  command  of  bis 
•uperiiini.  and  sincerely  honed  he  should  not  be  held  to  have  thereby  forfeited  the  regard 
>f  others." 

"Mr.  O'Connell,"  continues  the  report,  "said  that  was  all  perfectly  fair,  and  that  he  ex 
?ccteu  by  the  next  meeting  to  have  a  desk  or  table,  at  which  two  or  three,  or  as  many 
more  us  the  police  should  think  tit,  might  be  accommodated  comfortably." 

Thirty  or  forty  time*  at  least,  dining  the  course  of  his  agitation,  similar  occasions  have 
.iriscn  for  similar  steps  ii|K>n  his  part— greatly  to  the  diaappoiatn.ent  and  dincomJiture  of 
r.hu  authorities,  he  showed  such  readiness  to  oblige. 

It  would  have  been  the  motd  agreeable  news  at  the  Castle,  during  aiir  period  of  that  long 
Bourse  of  agitation,  to  hrve  word  brought  tn.vt  Mr.  O'Conneil  had  caused  to  be  turned  out 
.-  r  obstructed,  or  even  shown  a  disinclination  to  the  atteucince  of  the  police  reporters,  at 
-ny  of  his  thousand-foil!  meeting*. 

When  in  a  few  years  ufter  the  period  at  which  our  sketch  has  arrived,  the  CatholU 
AMOclation  arose,  and  ulmost  from  its  birth  began  to  give  symptoms  of  how  far  it  woui<» 
ra.iMU»  all  former  popular  gatherings  ir.  iu  giant  matiui  /,  two  reporters,  and  of  a  da*, 
"a*  MJienvr  to  Uw  -olio*  acws  ckrri«-i*  who  bad  hiU»«rto  b«en  uyvJly  «>,tloy«d  iu  tht 


DANIEL  0?CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  4]  3 

dutkvj  of  watching  and  communicating  all  proceedings  of  the  Catholics  at  their  meetings 
were  delegated  to  attend.  Both  acknowledged  subsequently  that  they  had  come  to  Ireland 
(they  were  English  by  birth)  with  the  most  rueful  and  despondent  feelings,  fully  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  they  were  doomed  men,  in  being  selected  not  only  to  go  to -that 
turbulent  and  throat-cutting  country,  Ireland,  but  to  attend  the  consultations  of  the  terri- 
ble confederacy  acting  under  the  orders  of  the  arch-rebel,  O'Connell ! 

Being  fair-minded  and  well-disposed  men,  they  very  soon  learned  to  laugh  at  their  fan- 
cied terrors,  and  freely  acknowledged  the  highly  favourable  impressions  they  received  from 
the  general  tone  of  the  proceedings  at  the  Association.  One  of  them  indeed  became  quite 
Qery  in  his  partizanship  in  favour  of  Mr.  O'Connell  and  his  Association. 

Mr.  O'Connell  was  ever  careful,  as  his  words  already  quoted  indicate,  to  provide  the  fullest 
and  the  amplest  accommodation  to  parties  thus  sent;  and  their  generally  inoffensive,  an* 
hl^hl/  creditable  conduct  made  him  the  more  anxious  to  convenience  and  oblige  them. 
There  have  been  but  two  or  three  instances  in  which  his  attention  has  been  at  all  badly 
repaid ;  ami  these  are  scarcely  of  moment  sufficient  to  be  mentioned  at  all. 


CATHOLIC  "SECURITIES." 

THE  year  1814,  with  which  we  have  now  to  occupy  ourselves,  was  one  of  a  very  eventful 
nature.  The  " f eto"  or  " securities"  discussion  was  hottest  in  that  year,  and  the  opposi 
tion  to  it  the  most  earnest,  and  in  its  results  the  most  effective. 

Some  vantage  ground  had  been  given  to  the  advocates  of  the  "  veto"  by  the  general  pro. 
icralgation  of  the  fact  that,  in  1799,  a  portion — but  a  very  small  one,  being  not  one-third — 
of  the  Irish  Catholic  hierarchy,  had,  under  the  extreme  pressure  of  the  sad  and  difficult 
dreams  .*i. ces  of  that  time  of  terror,  and  with  great  limitations  and  reservations,  in  sonw 
degree  entertained  the  proposition  of  "Mcttrttfei." 

Making  the  most,  however,  of  the  concessions  which  they  were  at  all  inclined  to  consider 
they  amounted  to  no  more  than  an  expression  of  readiness  to  allow  of  some  species  of 
guarantee  being  held  out  against  the  possible  appointment  to  high  ecclesiastical  office  in 
Ireland  of  persons  who  might  be  known  to  be  inimical  to  the  connexion  between  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland. 

This  was  the  entire  effect  and  purport  of  the  document  which  was  said,  and  with  truth, 
to  have  been  drawn  up  in  17U9. 

This  document  (according  to  the  account  afterwards  given  of  it  by  the  celebrated  Dr 
Milner  the  distinguished  and  most  learned  vicar  apostolic  of  the  Midland  District  h, 
England,  and  for  several  years  the  agent  of  the  Irish  Catholic  bishops)  was  signed  by  the 
«maP.  proportion  mentioned  of  the  Irish  hierarchy,  while  under  a  delusion  as  to  the  fair 
.mentions  of  the  government  but  was  soon  after  attempted  to  be  suppressed  by  themselves, 
U  far  as  possible,  when  they  began  to  see  through  their  delusion. 

Such  a  document,  however,  was  far  too  precious  to  the  enemies  of  the  Catholics,  and  of 
iheir  religious  independence,  not  to  be  preserved ;  and  indeed  undue  pains  were  taken  to 
^reserve  it  by  the  parties  to  whom  it  would  have  appeared  strange  to  apply  thaf 
esignation  The  English  Catholics  procured  copies  of  it  to  be  printed  and  privately  circa- 
ated  ;  and  when  in  1808.  the  question  of  veto  was  first  distinctly  taken  up  by  the  Govern 
rant  some  of  these  copies  were  found  in  the  ministers'  hands. 

Catholics  on  this  side  of  the  water  were  also  found  to  involve  themselves  in  this  terrioli 
tntstake.  The  honoured  name  of  Lord  Fingal  was  unfortunately  to  be  reckoned  amongst 
them  ;  and  the  part  he  took  was  sufficiently  active.  It  procured  for  him  the  distinction, 
•uoh  as  It  was,  of  a  special  letter  from  Lc'-d  Grenville,  explaining  t,uc  views  of  the  British 

Wr:t  in  j  rorM«,lng  the  '  *KcuniTrEs." 


414 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 


"Ministers,"  said  the  letter,  "must  have  an  effectual  control  over  the  appointment  of 
vJatholic  priests,  for  the  security  of  the  religions  establishment*  of  this  country." 

That  was  to  say,  that  in  order  to  preserve  the  temporalities  of  the  Protestant  Church  hi 
England  (and  of  cour.se  in  Ireland,)  it  was  necessary  that  Catholic  priests  should  if  poo>i- 
iile,  be  made  the  creatures  and  tools  of  the  government 

A  strange  inducement  and  recommendation  to  Catholics  of  the  proposed  measures  ! 

Dr.  Milner  was  summoned  to  an  interview  with  Mr.  Ponsonby,  on  Saturday,  21st  of  If  Ay. 
1808  ;  v/hen  being  introduced  by  Lord  FtngaL,  he  wau  questioned  as  to  what  likelihood  th=src 
was  of  inducing  "his  constituents,"  the  Irish  bishops,  to  favour  the  "  vety,"  or  some  equivsv- 
Icnt  security. 

Ills  reply  (as  stated  by  himself  in  a  letter  of  February  18th,  1811,  to  the  Freeman  t 
Journal,  answering  and  commenting  on  some  statements  with  regard  to  his  conduct  in  the 
matter,  made  in  an  article  in  the  thirty  -third  number  of  the  EcUnturgh  Review,  was  to  th; 
ffKowing  effect:— 

"That  be  had  no  itntmctiottt  from  the  Irish  prelates  relative  to  their  admitting  of  a  regn' 
interference  in  the  appointment  of  their  future  colleagues;  and  that,  therefore,  be  covlit 
-jive  no  pledge  whatever  on  Uttir  behalf:  that  he  well  knew  they  could  not  admit  of  am? 
potitive  interference  in  this  business  on  the  part  of  the  uncatholit  yovcrnmau  ;—  nevertheless, 
that  he  himseff  was  persuaded  there  was  a  disposition  io  them  to  admit  of  such  a  limited 
ccgntive  Interference  as  might  give  the  proposed  additional  pledge  with  respect  to  the  loy. 
Alty  of  episcopal  candidates.  Finally,  that  in  consequence  of  his  undecisive  answer,  he  WA* 
directed  by  the  right  honourable  gentleman  to  write  to  Ireland  for  instructions,  which  he 
•Ud,  in  letters  to  five  different  prelates." 

The  answers  which  he  received  co  these  communications  were,  nowever,  of  such  a  nature, 
J.i  the  majority  of  instances,  as  to  nuke  evident  to  him  bis  mistake;  and  be  accordingly 
took  immedtete  steps  to  make  it  known  equally  to  all  whom  it  concerned. 

The  rest  of  tbe  discutuion,  so  flu*  as  oar  sketch  1ms  to  do  with  It,  will  be  noticed  bs  tr« 


On  tbe  3rd  of  February,  the  p<er»tc*tion  of  Magee  recommenced  in  tne  Queen  a  Bencr- 
with  the  indictment  against  him  for  tbe  Kilkenny  resolutions  of  August  last 

It  is  quite  enough  to  say  that  tbe  Attorney-General  bad,  in  this  case  as  in  all  others  he 
pleased,  bis  own  pet  picked  jurymen  in  the  box  ;  and  tbe  (act  of  tbe  traverser  having  been 
found  guilty  follows  as  an  inference  of  course. 

The  sentence  was,  a  fine  of  £1000,  with  imprisonment  for  six  months  from  expiration  ol 
Kin  former  sentence.  Subsequent  securities  for  the  peace  to  be  giveu,  in  jClQOO  for  himself, 
and  two  sureties  of  £500  eacb 

However  desirous  to  avoid,  henceforward,  delays  of  any  length  upon  particular  years,  we 
cannot  omit  a  speech  of  Mr.  O'ConnelTs,  towards  tbe  end  of  Much,  at  a  Catholic  meeting  in 
tho  county  Clare,  on  the  noted  subject  of  tbe  "  securities,  "  as  mixed  up  with  tbe  differences 
between.  the  Catholic  Board  and  Lord  Donoughmore  and  Mr.  lirattan. 

Mr.  Woulfc,  tbe  late  Chief  Baron,  a  man  of  singular  intellect  and  ability,  made  a  splendid 
oratorical  effort  on  this  occasion,  to  induce  the  Catholics  to  falter  and  hesitate  in  their 
hitherto  decided  course  of  open  opposition  to  tne  fraudulent  and  ruinous  schemes  cf  tbe 
government,  relative  to  Catholic  matters.  His  talents  enabled  him  to  make  a  powerful 
.iiipression  upon  the  meeting,  and  it  was  necessary  for  Mr.  O'Connell  to  leave  no  atone 
unturned  to  removs  that  impression. 

for  this  purpose  he  made  use,  in  tbe  beginning  of  his  speech,  of  tbe  (air  party  weapoo 
cf  ridicule,  protesting  that  the  proceedings  of  the  day  had  strongly  brought  to  his  memory 
.•no  of  the  old  fables  he  had  learned  in  childhood  —  that  of  tbe  sheep  consulting  whether 
'iicy  should  not  manifest  their  faith  in  the  good  words  of  their  ancient  enemies,  by  getting 
nd  of  the  guardianship  of  the  dogs  who  usually  attended  them. 

After  amusing  his  auditory  for  some  time  by  his  description  of  the  sage  counsels  of  an  oh' 
patriarch  of  the  flock,  who  warned  them  against  the  course  they  were  abcut  to  adopt.  Mr. 
vConnell,  pci  cciving  that  *ie  had  tuned  the  meeting  up  to  tbe  proper  pitch,  suddenly 
Ti-t-d  his  eyes  to  the  gallon-,  from  which  part  of  the  -impel  in  which  the.-  were  assembled 

•hr  previous  spt.lkfr  nj,d  .-.ddr^ed  'hem.  JUtf 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  I.T.P.  4]  5 

"At  this  critical  moment,  when  the  voice  of  prudence  was  beginning  to  be  heard,  aww.r 
(Woulfc)  came  forward  to  tte  front  of  the  gallery"  <fcc. 

As  he  spoke  the  words,  he  pointed  to  Mr.  Woulf«,  and  an  uproarious  and  universal  shon 
rf  laughter  did  more  than  fifty  long  speeches  could  h»*e  done  to  destroy  the  effect  of  thnt 
gentleman's  eloquent  harangue. 

The  rest  of  Mr  O'Connell's  address  was  in  a  graver  spirit,  and  ePjctually  carried  with  it 
tho  meeting. 

MR.  O'CoNNELi,  said  that  he  did  no*  /Ise  to  oppose  the  motion, 
as  it  was  now  modified  by  Mr.  Woulfe.  He  did  not,  and  never 
should  resist  any  tribute  of  Catholic  respect  and  Catholic  gra- 
titude to  the  Earl  of  Donoughmore.  He  should  never  forget 
how  much  the  Catholics  owed  to  that  noble  lord.  In  his  illus- 
trious family  they  had  found  their  best  supporters.  The  Hutch- 
rnsons  of  the  present  day  had  their  fathers'  and  their  own  claims 
upon  our  gratitude.  At  a  time  when  liberality  to  Papists  was 
little  short  of  crime,  their  revered  father  broke  the  bondage  of 
bigotry,  and  stood  forth,  single  and  alone,  the  advocate  of  his  en- 
slaved country.  The  cause  which  he  espoused  was  zealously  ami 
faithfully  pursued  by  his  sons.  The  Earl  of  Donoughmore  ha* 
unremittingly  pursued  it  upon  e^erv  occasion  ;  in  every  discus- 
sion he  stood  prominent  in  our  cause.  No  enemy  of  religious 
liberty  was  too  humble  to  escape  his  contempt ;  no  profligate 
deserter  of  religious  freedom  would  be  too  exalted  to  escape  his 
dignified  reprobation.  (Loud  applause  for  many  minutes.) 
And  then  he  had  a  brother,  too — the  very  first  of  patriots — the 
most  disinterested,  the  bravest,  the  truest  Irishman  living; — a 
raan  who  could  be  described,  in  the  language  of  truth,  only  by 
adopting  a  familiar  phrase,  but  certainly  not  a  disrespectful  one, 
,'ind  calling  him  the  finest  fellow  that  breathes — CHRISTOPHER 
HRLY  FTurcHixsoN.  (Shouts  of  applause.)  To  his  family  more 
\ras  due  than  ever  could  be  repaid;  but  alas  for  poor  fallen  Ire- 
land!— when,  instead  of  combining  in  the  expression  of  those 
sentiments,  attempts  were  made  to  use  the  name  of  one  of  that 
house  as  an  instrument  of  dissension.  But  Mr.  Woulfe  is  mis- 
taken ;  there  cannot  be  any  dissensions  conjured  up  under  tne 
auspices  of  that  name. 

The  learned  gentleman,  Mr.  Woulfe,  has  indeed  endeavoured 
to  excuse  himself  from  an  attempt  to  convert  his  motion  into  a 
tocsin  of  discord.  He  says  that  he  has  been  unfairly  dealt  with — 
that  your  resolution  to  confine  the  business  of  this  day  to  the  peti- 
tion itself  has  unjustly  deprived  him  of  other  opportunities  of 
dissension,  and  that  he  is,  therefore,  driven  to  this  effort,  in  or- 
der to  disturb,  if  he  can,  your  unanimity 


416  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

What,  Sir,  will  the  gentleman  then  avow  that  discord  and  dis 
sonsion  are  of  themselves  such  mighty  blessings  that  their  absence 
is  to  be  regretted  ?  Is  he  in  love  with  disorder  and  disunion  ? 
Does  ne  think  unanimity  an  evil,  and  cordial  combination  a 
curse?  If  such  be  his  opinions — if  tho°e  be  the  sentiments  of 
the  gentlemen  with  whom  he  says  h**  -ets,  and  who  have  taken 
the  names  of  seceders — ohl  lo^  aiay  they  secede  from  Ca- 
tholic counsels,  and  never  may  thjy  return ! 

But  what  is  the  justice  of  Mr.  Woulfe's  complaint  ?  A  select 
meeting  held  before  we  came  here,  consisting  of  a  large  numbei 
of  that  respectable  class  of  Catholic  gentry  in  your  county,  wh^ 
have  hitherto  been  most  active  in  your  cause,  concurred  in  this 
sentiment,  that  irritation  and  division  amongst  the  Catholics 
ought  now  particularly  to  be  avoided,  and  therefore,  they  agreed 
to  submit  to  this  assembly  that  resolution  which  Mr.  Mahon  has 
moved,  and  you  have  adopted. 

At  the  select  meeting,  division  had  at  length  but  one  sup- 
porter :  with  the  exception  of  one,  the  meeting  agreed  to  forbear 
from  all  discordant  topics.  Here,  indeed,  Mr.  Woulfe  has  had 
two  persons  to  vote  with  him  against  Mr.  Mahon's  motion. 

[Here  a  gentleman  exclaimed  th*t  there  were  three  beside*  Mr.  Woulfe,  for  he.  too.  had 
voted  with  him.] 

Well,  said  Mr.  O'Connell,  there  were  three — might  ii.-inority! 
— there  were  just  three  in  this  assembly — three  against  the  hun- 
dreds here  met ;  and  if  the  twenties  and  thirties  of  thousands  of 
Catholics  whom  your  county  contains  were  all  here  assembled, 
the  minority  would  not  be  increased  by  a  single  individual.  ( Ap- 
plause.) Well,  with  this  glorious  minority  of  three,  the  learned 
gentleman  proceeds.  He  first  moves  that  the  name  of  the  Earl 
of  Donoughmore  be  substituted  for  that  of  Earl  Conyngham. 
Sir,  however  we  respect  the  former,  that  was  a  motion  which 
could  not  be  acceded  to.  Earl  Conyngham,  even  if  he  did  not 
support  your  claims,  possesses  a  species  of  affectionate  popularity 
in  this  country  which  would  protect  his  name  from  any  slight. 
The  best  reward  of  that  rare  character  in  Ireland — an  excellent 
/andlord  and  a  steady  friend — Earl  Conyngham  deservedly  pos- 
sesses in  the  respectfal  affections  of  his  countrymen.  There 
never  was  a  more  vain  attempt  than  that  to  displace  him  amongst 
the  Catholics  of  the  county  of  Clare.  (Applause.) 

This  difficulty  was  felt  by  Mr.  Woulfe.  He  felt  that  he  could 
not  succeed  in  erasing  the  name  of  Lord  Conyngham  from  your 
resolution.  He,  therefore,  substituted  a  motion  confined  to  a 
compliment  to  Lord  Dctoughmore.  This  motion  was  instantly 


DANIEL  OCONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P  417 

acceded  to.     Every  individual  present  cheerfully,  readily,  cor- 
dially agreed  to  it.     The  resolution  must  pass  unanimously. 

Was  Mr.  Woulfe  satisfied  ?  His  motion  met  unanimous  sup- 
port. "Was  he  content?  No,  Sir,  he  was  not  satisfied — he  was 
discontented.  Unanimity  even  upon  his  own  proposition  dis- 
pleased him.  The  motion  was  a  pretence;  his  purpose  was  dis- 
union and  discord  ;  and  accordingly,  without  an  assignable  mo- 
tive, or  rational  cause — quite  apropos  des  bottes,  as  the  French 
say — he  pronounced  a  long  harangue  against  the  Catholic  Board, 
full  of  sound  and  fury,  but  in  plain  truth  signifying  little  if  any- 
thing. In  good  set  terms  he  railed  at  the  Board.  I  regret  that 
the  points  of  accusation  were  so  indistinct  that  it  is  difficult  to 
follow  or  understand  them.  But  as  far  as  I  could  comprehend 
them,  this  volunteer  harangue  of  accusation  shall  not  pass  with- 
out reply. 

Yet  1  first  must  proclaim  my  delight  at  the  manner  in  which 
this  attack  was  received.  I  am  glad  he  made  it.  I  am  glad 
that  a  "  seceder"  should  thus  have  had  ocular  demonstration  01 
the  unpopularity  of  his  own  opinions.  You  first  heard  him  in 
silence.  The  disapprobation  which  soon  followed  marked  your  sen- 
timents, and  amidst  the  expressions  of  your  decided  disapproba- 
tion, which  accompanied  the  close  of  his  speech,  he  has  learneo 
how  justly  you  prize  the  honest  exertions  of  your  General  Board. 
(Loud  aud  continued  applause.) 

Yet  an  object  has  been  attained.  One  purpose  is  effectuated. 
The  philippic  you  have  heard  will  appear  in  print ;  it  will  grace 
the  columns  of  the  hireling  press — the  vile,  the  scandalous  cor- 
ruption, the  base-born  slaves  of  venality  will  rejoice  to  publish 
it,  and  some  shallow  and  false  friends  will  give  it  double  circula- 
tion. It  will  appear  uncontradicted  and  unaccompanied  by  that 
indignant  reproof  which  you  have  poured  upon  it ;  and  the  se- 
cedere,  joined  in  an  holy  alliance  with  the  Orange  Bovens  of 
Derry,  and  with  the  paltry  persecutors  of  Wicklow,  with  the 
Wingfields  and  Stratfords,  conscientious  supporters  of  religion ! 
God  bless  the  mark !  Yes,  the  "  seceders"  and  the  persecutors 
will  rejoice  in  chorus,  for  the  Catholic  Board  has  been  attacked 
*>y  both  ;  and  the  speech  you  have  heard  this  day  will  be  quoted 
with  equal  delight  by  Protestant  and  Papist  Orangemen.  (Ap- 
plause. 

Let  me,  however,  here,  where  I  can  be  heard,  proudly  vindi- 
cate the  Catholic  Board  from  the  aspersions  of  the  learned  gen- 
tleman. I  am,  indeed,  proud  to  be  the  advocate  of  the  Board— 
uoubly  proud,  because  such  advocacy  requires  nothing  but  the 


4  18  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

simple  statement  of  facts  to  make  it  triumphant.  For  of  what 
docs  he  accuse  us  ? — of  what  do  his  four  charges  consist  ?  I  shall 
separate  the  four  counts  in  his  indictment,  to  speak  technically, 
and  you  will  soon  perceive  how  idle  and  absurd  is  the  accusation. 
It  charges  the  Board — 

First — With  acting  in  such  a  manner  as  enables  our  enemies 
to  misrepresent  our  actions. 

Secondly — With  this,  *hat  the  Earl  of  Fingal  and  Sir  Edward 
Bellow,  by  name,  and  the  learned  gentleman  himself,  and  several 
other  important  persons,  calling  themselves  "  seceders,"  have  se- 
parated from  the  Board. 

Thirdly — With  having  made  an  unnecessary  and  virulent  at- 
tack on  Lord  Donoughmore  and  Mr.  Gmttan  ;  and — 

Fourthly — With  having  been  guilty  of  a pun.  (Laughter.) 

Such,  Mr.  Chairman,  are  the  grave  and  portentous  charcros 
brought  by  Mr.  Woulfe  against  the  Board.  I  shall  plead  to 
them,  but  reversing  the  order  and  continuing  the  phrase  of  my 
profession,  I  Ahull  nlead  n»t  guilty  to  the  two  latter  counts,  and 
tender  a  justification  to  the  two  former. 

The  last  9harge  is  that  with  which  I  begin,  namely,  that  thn 
Board  has  committed  a  pun.  This  has  the  merit  of  comicality 
and  of  novelty.  It  has  been  gravely  stated  by  Mr.  Woulfe ;  but 
I  am  unable  to  attempt,  with  gravity,  to  refute  the  charge,  other- 
wise than  by  denying  the  fact,  and  regretting  that  some  worthy 
seceder  lias  not  furnished  the  Board  with  a  collection  of  approvea 
jests  and  moderate  witticisms,  that  could  suggest  nothing  bold 
or  dangerous.  A  public  body  accused  of  a  joke !  a  public  body 
charged  with  being  miserably  witty!  Oh!  most  wise,  most  sa- 
pient accusers !  But,  let  the  fact  be  known.  One  gentleman  of 
the  Board,  Mr.  Lawless,  used  the  unfortunate  witticism  now  repro- 
bated. He,  Mr.  Lawless,  talked  of  the  "  knockloftinett"  of  the 
style  of  a  certain  letter ;  but  besides,  that  the  Board  is  scarcely 
responsible  for  the  jests  of  an  individual,  the  fact  is,  that  the  one 
.11  question  did  not  originate  with  him  ;  he  found  it  in  "The 
Belfast  Magazine"  and  retailed  it  to  the  Board  at  second  hand. 

Let  "  The  Belfast,  Magazint?  and  not  the  Board,  bear  the 
blame;  and  there  never  was  a  woik  that  could  better  sustain  an 
attack ;  it  is  a  work  that  does  honour  to  Irish  genius,  taste,  and 
talent ;  it  is  a  work  consecrated  to  Irish  liberty ;  it  glows  with 
every  noble  sentiment  of  icligious  and  civil  freedom  ;  and  dull 
must  be  the  understanding,  and  cold  must  be  the  heart  ;t  could 
tail  to  enlighten  and  to  warm  in  the  cause  of  Ii  eland.  The  con- 
ductors of  't  are  Protestants  and  Presbyterians ;  would  to  God 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  4 id 

the  Catholic  Board  contained  many — would  that  it  contained 
any  such  men. 

To  return  from  the  digression  which  a  very  silly  charge  against 
the  Board  bid  me  indulge,  I  now  take  up  the  next  proposition 
to  which  I  have,  for  the  Board,  pleaded  not  guilty.  It  is,  Sir, 
the  solemn  accusation,  "  that  the  Board  has  made  an  unnecessary 
and  violent  attack  on  Lord  Donoughmore  and  Mr.  Grattan  !" 

This  charge  I  totally  and  entirely  deny.  The  gentleman  has 
not  supported  it  with  a  single  proof ;  but  as  it  involves  us  in 
the  base  sin  of  ingratitude,  I  shall  reply  to  an  improved  charge ; 
and  by  merely  stating  the  facts,  demonstrate  the  plain  injustice 
of  the  accusation.  The  facts  are  these  ;  attend  to  them  I  pray 
you  ;  they  are  of  importance  to  every  Irishman,  no  matter  what 
may  be  his  mode  or  form  of  faith. 

Last  year  a  bill  was  brought  into  parliament,  purporting  to  be 
for  the  relief  of  the  Roman  Catholic  body.  There  was  no  deli- 
Deration  on  that  bill.  Lord  Donoughmore  was  scarcely  con- 
sulted with  at  all ;  but  it  was  prepared  principally  under  the 
auspices  of  Mr.  Canning,  one  of  the  foremost  in  that  class  of 
statesmen  who  raise  their  own  interests  whilst  they  despise  pub- 
lic liberty  and  political  principle,  and  laugh  in  private  at  the 
uupes,  by  whose  confidence  they  rise  to  wealth  and  power.  Mr. 
Canning  was  the  chief  framer  of  the  bill,  and  it  was  quite  suited 
to  a  patriot  of  his  description/ 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  members  of  the  Catholic  Board  dili- 
gently and  carefully  to  examine  the  principle  and  contents  of  a 
proposed  law,  in  which,  as  Catholics  and  as  Irishmen,  we  were  all 
so  deeply  interested.  We  found  it  to  be  erroneous  in  principle  ; 
defective,  and  almost  entirely  useless  in  its  details  respecting  our 
-eligion  ;  indeed,  it  might  have  been  said  to  contain  no  principle 
at  all ;  or,  rather,  it  contained  a  direct  negative  of  the  great  object 
of  our  pursuit— the  principle  that  would  declare  conscience  free, 
and  religion  a  question  between  man  and  his  Creator.  (Ap- 
plause). _,,  , 

Then  with  respect  to  our  religion,  it  went  to  place  our  Church, 
the  appointment  of  our  bishops,  and  the  consequent  control  over 
our  clergy,  in  the  hands  of  three  privy  councillors,  to  consist  per- 
haps  of  Dr  Dui^enan,  Sir  Richard  Musgrave,  and  the  acting  clerk 
or  secretary  at  the  Castle,  generally  some  conceited  and  ignorant 
English  coxcomb.  Such  were  the  men  who  were  to  preside  over 
ou-  Church  ;  to  whose  fostering  care  our  religion  was  to  have 
been  confided  :  to  whose  tender  mercies  the  holiness  of  our  faitt 
was  to  be  entrusted.  Is  there  in  the  Catholic  body  any  man  s 


420  8KLECT  SPEECTES  OP 

stupid  a*  to  imagine,  that  the  Catholic  religion  could  exist  fifty 
years  under  such  control  ? 

It  has  survived  persecution  ;  built  upon  a  rock,  it  has  defied 
the  storms  of  force  and  violence.  But  this  Emancipation  Bill 
would  have  undermined  the  Church,  and  the  rock  on  which  it 
is  founded  ;  and  in  the  fall  of  both,  the  credulous  people  wo  aid 
be  crushed  to  death  and  destruction. 

This  to  you  is  enough.  Canning's  Emancipation  Bill  would 
have  destroyed  your  religion.  No  man  could  expect  to  be  ap- 
pointed a  bishop  after  it  passed,  for  any  other  reason  than  because 
he  did  not  deserve  that  sacred  office.  Piety  and  learning,  and  holy 
zeal,  and  blessed  charity,  which  we  now  see  so  often  combined  in 
our  venerated  prelates,  would  all  be  passed  over  and  carefully  rejec- 
ted ;  and  in  theirroom  the  men  would  be  selected,  who  were  subser- 
vient, and  subtle,  and  flattering ;  the  men  whoco.uld  sacrifice  their 
consciences  to  the  interest  of  their  patrons.  A  good  electioneering 
agent  would  deserve  a  mitre  by  ardency  in  the  bribery  and  cor 
ruption  of  a  contested  election ;  and  the  patronage  of  the  Catholic 
Church  would  become  a  constant,  as  it  would  be  a  valuable  article 
of  ministerial  traffic  and  barter. 

Aad  to  this  the  hereditary  hatred  which  so  many  cherish 
against  the  Irish  Catholics ;  und  when  you  have  placed  the  Irish 
Catholic  Church  under  the  combined  control  of  bigotry  and  inter- 
ested profligacy,  I  would  fain  learn  whether  there  be  any  seceder 
so  confident  as  to  usscrt,  that  the  Catholic  religion  in  Ireland 
could  survive  under  that  domination. 

But  this  is  not  all :  the  last  ray,  the  remaining  spark  of  liberty 
in  Ireland  would  have  been  extinguished  by  the  same  process 
which  had  put  out  your  religion.  The  quantity  of  influence 
which  the  minister  would  have  procured  by  means  of  Mr.  Can- 
ning's bill  is  obvious :  there  would  be  placed  in  every  diocese, 
and  then  in  every  parish  in  Ireland,  a  ministerial  dependant, 
obliged  to  support  the  minister  by  the  tenure  of  his  ecclesiastical 
office  ;  and  then  the  expectants  of  the  offices  would,  as  is  usual, 
be  under  the  necessity  of  using  double  diligence  in  the  service  of 
the  friends  of  the  ministry.  Thus  Canning's  bill  would  have 
given  a  more  extensive  and  formidable  patronage  and  support  to 
every  succeeding  administration  ;  it  would  have  brought  more 
numerous,  better  disciplined,  and  more  effective  recruits  into  the 
ranks  of  corruption  than  any  one  political  measure  ever  yet  in 
vented  or  even  imagined. 

I  repeat  it,  that  then,  puMic  liberty  would  be  a  shadow,  and  tb. 


DANIEL  OCOKKELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  421 

Kim  pie  and  the  impret  ending  despotism  of  a  Turkish  province 
would  be  a  subject  for  admiration  and  regret.     (Applause.) 

See  what  has  already  occurred  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Ireland.  The  Irish  Presbyterians  were  remarked  and  admired 
for  their  love  of  liberty ;  their  hatred  of  oppression ;  their  manly 
,ind  noble  spirit  of  independence.  The  republican  portion  of  ooir 
mixed  constitution  ;  that  part  of  our  constitution  which  is  essen- 
tially necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  liberties  of  the  people, 
had,  in  the  Irish  Presbyterians,  vigilant  guardians,  active,  zealous, 
informed,  and  enlightened  supporters.  The  Presbyterians  first 
felt  that  the  true  interests  of  Ireland  required  a  cordial  co-oper- 
ation of  all  the  Irish  people  ;  and  demanded  the  extinction  of 
religious  animosities,  and  the  glow  of  mutual  benevolence.  The 
Irish  Presbyterians,  accordingly,  sacrificed  their  prejudices  on 
the  altar  of  Ireland  ;  they  made  the  first  advances  to  conciliation  ; 
and  met  even  the  half-wiiy  advances  of  the  Catholics,  to  a  cordial 
combination  of  effort  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  They  were  always 
the  friends  of  civil  liberty  ;  and,  for  the  sake  of  that  darling  object, 
they  became  the  friends  of  religious  liberty  also. 

But  in  an  evil  hour,  when  the  clergy  accepted  salaries  from 
the  state,  the  "  Reyium  Donum"  was  introduced ;  their  clergy 
became  familiar  with  the  Castle ;  the  natural  consequences  fol- 
lowed :  their  leading  gentry  fell  off,  and  joined  the  more  courtly 
and  fashionable  worship  of  the  Established  Church  ;  their  lower 
classes  deserted,  and  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Methodists,  and 
sought  untried  preachers  amongst  other  sectarians  ;  and  there 
remains  now  to  remind  us  of  the  ancient  glories  and  worth  of  the 
Irish  Presbyterians,  only  just  such  a  residue  as  must  convince 
us  what  they  would  have  been,  and  what  she  would  have  done 
for  Ireland,  if  the  Church  had  not  been  corroded  and  almost  anni- 
liilated  by  the  blighting  breath  of  ministerial  influence  and  cor-  , 

ruption. 

With  this  example  before  us  of  a  religion  almost  destroyed, 
and  a  watchfire  of  liberty  almost  extinguished,  could  we  feel 
otherwise  than  indignant  at  Canning's  attempt  to  destroy  the  - 
Irish  Catholic  Church  1  We  are  attached  to  the  Catholic  Church 
firmly  and  conscientiously;  we  are  attached  to  liberty  ardently 
and  devotedly;  and  we  could  not  behold  with  indifference  our 
religion  and  our  liberties  devoted,  under  the  name  of  relief,  k< 
decay  and  ruin.  We  had  not,  we  confess,  sufficient  coldness  and 
discretion  to  see  those  prospects,  and  remain  unmoved  Our 
venerable  prelates  joined  in  our  fears ;  they  condemned  Can- 
ning's clauses;  we  expressed  our  gratitude  ,  and  here  secession 


422  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

Logan.  The  "seceders"  thought  the  bill  right,  and  the  bishop 
wrong^;  and  from  the  day  on  which  We  thanked  our  prelates  for 
their  care  of  the  Catholic  Church — from  that  day  the  great  era 
of  secession  is  dated,  and  the  party  of  whom,  for  the  first  time, 
a  boast  is  made  at  a  public  meeting,  commenced  its  history ;  but 
of  this  party  I  shall  say  more  presently. 

The  relief  bill,  I  have  told  you,  was  defective  in  its  detail*. 
After  having  pointed  out  its  natural  and  necessary  tendency  to 
destroy  religion  and  liberty,  it  may  be  deemed  quite  superfluous, 
or  worse,  to  notice  its  details ;  but  I  cannot  avoid  pointing  out 
a  few  of  its  most  prominent  defects.  At  present  it  is  said  that 
the  Catholics  of  Ireland  cannot  found  any  school,  nor  e8tabli>! 
any  charity  for  Catholics.  Catholic  schools  and  Catholic  chari- 
ties are,  they  say,  forbidden  by  law;  nay,  the  law  is  much  worse; 
for  there  is  a  commission,  consisting  principally  of  Protestant 
bishops,  with  Dr.  Duigeuan  at  their  head,  whose  duty  it  is  u» 
look  for  illegal — that  is,  Catholic — charities ;  then  to  employ 
an  attorney,  who,  in  all  events,  is  to  be  paid  out  of  the  cha- 
ritable fund  attacked.  Whether  they  succeed  or  not,  their 
attorney  is  entitled  to  his  plunder — his  full  costs  from  the  de- 
fendants j  and  it  is  the  duty  of  those  commissioners,  thus  amused 
with  litigation,  at  the  expense  of  their  adversaries,  to  lay  hold  of 
all  property  destined  for  Catholic  schools  and  charities,  and  to 
convert  it  to  the  purposes  of  Protestant  charities  and  schools  ! 

All  charitable  bequests  for  Catholic  purposes,  the  executors 
are  bound  to  divulge,  under  severe  penalties.  Besides,  conceal- 
ment is  impossible  ;  for  the  wills  must  remain  in  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Court,  and  thus  a  complete  inquisition  is  established  over 
every  source  of  charitable  relief,  and  every  fund  for  the  education 
of  Catholics.  Besides,  the  very  collections  of  your  charity  ser- 
mons may  be  swept  away  by  any  common  informer,  but  that 
such  species  of  profligacy  is  restrained  and  controlled,  in  despite 
of  the  law,  by  the  execration  of  mankind. 

Perhaps  you  imagine  that  the  late*  relief  bill  would  have  re- 
duced those  evils,  and  rescued  your  schools  and  charities  from 
Ihe  Protestant  inquisition.  You  are  mistaken  if  you  think  so. 
The  bill  would  have  left  the  inquisition  precisely  as  it  found  it. 

I  shall  particularise  but  one  more  defect.  A  Catholic  priest 
is  at  present  subjected  by  law  to  capital  punishment  if  he  hap- 
pens to  marry  a  Catholic  to  a  Protestant,  or  to  a  person  wb* 
was  a  Protestant  at  any  time  within  twelve  months  before  the 
marriage.  It  is  immaterial  whether  the  priest  know  the  fact,  or 
he  ignorant  of  it.  Let  it  be  so  studiously  concealed  from  him 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.T>.  493 

that  he  cannot  possibly  discover  it,  still  he  is  guilty  of  a  capital 
Felony ;  and  I  will  venture  to  assert  that  there  is  not  a  single 
priest  m  any  of  the  large  towns  in  Ireland  who  has  not  repeatedly 
been  rendered  liable  to  the  punishment  of  that  offence.  But  the 
law  is  not  content  with  directing  the  priest  to  be  hanged,  even 
for  a  mistake  ;  the  cruel  folly  of  the  penal  code  went  further  • 
and  lest  the  priest  should  be  unreasonable  enough  not  to  be  con- 
tented with  hanging,  another  statute  has,  in  addition,  imposed 
a  penalty  of  £500.  Thus,  a  priest  may,  by  law,  be  first  hanged, 
and  secondly  fined  £500  for  one  and  the  same  offence  ;  and  the 
construction  was,  in  the  year  1802,  expressly  admitted,  in  my 
hearing,  by  the  late  Lord  Kilwarden,  pronouncing  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench. 

The  relief  bill  would  have  left  the  law,  in  this  particular  also, 
as  it  found  it ;  and  if  the  charter  of  emancipation,  as  it  was  lu- 
dicrously called  in  Cork,  had  passed,  the  priests  of  that  city  would 
have  continued  liable,  for  a  mere  mistake,  to  death,  with  a  super- 
added  fine. 

I  will  not  delay  you  to  particularise  many  other  defects  in  the 
relief  bill ;  I  will  not  point  out  to  you  the  omission  to  give  votes 
to  Catholic  peers  at  the  election  of  Irish  representative  peers ;  of 
the  insertion  of  civil  and  military  officers,  without  adding  naval 
and  judicial,  although  the  distinction  between  naval  and  military 
officers  is  pointedly  recognized  by  the  statute  law,  and  the  dif- 
ference between  naval  and  military  officers  has  already  been 
effectually  relied  on  to  exclude  the  Catholic  from  the  latter. 
Neither  shall  I  detain  you  with  pointing  out  the  insufficiency 
of  the  relief  bill  to  procure  the  Catholics  their  rights  in  corpo- 
rations. You  well  know  the  advantages  derived  from  the  free- 
dom of  corporate  cities ;  you  know  by  experience  what  vexations 
freemen  of  cities  escape.  Corporate  rights  are  now  become  of 
inestimable  value  in  the  neighbouring  city  of  Limerick  ;  and  if 
there  be  spirit  and  independence  amongst  you,  they  may  also 
soon  become  valuable  in  the  town  of  Ennis. 

All  these,  and  many  more  wants  were  in  the  relief  bill  of 
last  year.  The  Catholic  Board  would  have  ill-deserved  the  con- 
fidence of  their  oppressed  countrymen,  if  they  had  not  sagacity 
to  discover,  and  manliness  to  expose  those  defects.  The  course 
to  be  pursued  appeared  plain  and  simple.  Lord  Donoughmor. 
was  certainly  in  no  manner  responsible  for  the  relief  bill ;  and 
Mr.  Grattan,  who  had  supported  its  civil  enactments,  was,  we 
are  convinced,  unacquainted  with  the  particulars  in  which  thai 
bill  wad  defective.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  Board  sw 


i24  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

licited  respectfully  a  communication  with  those  illustrious  per- 
sonages. Something  like  offence  appears  to  have  been  taken 
at  our  solicitation ;  we  were  replied  to  in  a  style  of  superiority, 
better  suited,  perhaps,  to  periods  when  the  Catholics  were  more 
depressed,  the  Protestants  more  elevated.  What  was  the  cause 
or  reason  of  the  error — for  so  I  must  pronounce  it — into  which 
these,  our  great  advocates,  fell  ?  The  Board  treated  it  with  per- 
fect respect,  and  replied  to  it  in  terms  of  perfect  civility.  The 
rejoinder  was,  perhaps,  more  unbending  than  the  first  answer. 
Lord  Donoughmore  did  not  think  it  right  to  descend  from  his 
lofty  attitude.  Mr.  Grattan  took  the  same  ground,  and  even 
condescended  to  lecture  the  Board.  But  the  Board  never  swerved 
from  its  determined  respect.  It  was  the  prototype  of  humility 
personified ;  aa-l  it  did  not,  for  one  instant,  forget  what  it  owed 
to  the  former  «*i  vices  of  the  noble  lord  and  right  honourable 
gentleman.  It  did  not  even  enter  into  any  expostulation,  much 
less  into  any  reproof.  But  it  submitted  in  silence  to  a  claim  of 
superiority  which  the  law  conferred,  and,  perhaps,  nature  had 
confirmed  ;  nor  was  that  silence  the  less  meritorious  for  the 
thousand  heart-breaking  recollections  which  lega!  superiority 
rouses  and  perpetuates.  (Loud  and  continued  applause.) 

Such  are  the  facts ;  1  defy  Mr.  Woulfe,  or  any  other  gentle- 
nym  to  contradict  any  one  of  them.  Where,  then,  is  the  attack 
on  Lord  Donoughraore  ?  Where,  then,  is  the  violence  or  intem- 
perance of  the  Board  ?  For  my  part,  I  felt  and  found  blame, 
for  another  and  a  very  different  reason.  I  apprehended  that  the 
Board  would  have  met  censure  and  reprobation  for  the  excess  of 
its  tumeness  and  submission.  "Bold  measure  men."  as  the  hire- 
lings of  the  administration  call  us,  would  have  acted  otherwise. 
"  Bold  measure  men,"  if  such  there  really  were,  would  have  put 
an  earlier  period  to  the  correspondence,  by  respectfully,  but 
finny,  declining  future  support.  But  we  thought  and  judged 
differently ;  and  therefore  can  securely  laugh  to  scorn  those  who 
would  accuse  us  of  intemperance,  or  disrespect  to  Lord  Donough- 
more  or  Mr  Grattan.  (Much  applause.) 

Little  must  bo  said  on  the  other  topics  of  accusation.  It  is 
rather  ludicrous  to  charge  us  with  the  course  that  Lord  Fingal, 
and  Sir  Edward  Bellew,  and  the  learned  gentlemen  have  seceded 
or  that  our  enemies  misrepresent  us.  I  cheerfully  admit  the 
private  worth  an  J  high  rank  of  the  noble  lord ;  I  readily  concede 
the  great  wealth  aiivl  respectability  of  the  worthy  baronet ;  but 
after  all,  what  are  they  when  put  in  contact  with  the  people  of 
)  Lord  Fingal  is  not  the  Catholic  cause,  nor  is  Sir 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  42§ 

Edward  Bcllew  the  Catholic  strength.  That  cause  may  proceed 
in  its  native  and  inherent  strength  without  them.  Whilst  I  la- 
ment their  absence,  and  should  rejoice  at  their  exertions,  I  can- 
dot  consent  to  think  that  the  liberty  of  the  people  depends  on 
their  presence  or  secession.  The  seceders  of  1792  were  as  high 
in  rank,  and  were  sixty-eight  in  number;  yet  the  people  pressed 
on  their  cause,  and  were  eminently  successful.  I  say  this  to 
show  you,  that  even  if  Mr.  Woulfe  be  right,  and  that  this  se- 
cession has  taken  place,  yet  the  people  may,  if  they  please,  again 
triumph.  Let  Mr.  Woulfe  too,  recollect,  that  the  Board  contains 
other  noble  lords  and  honourable  baronets,  who  have  not  seceded : 
and  that  the  families  of  those  who  remain  are  as  free  from  the 
intercourse  of  placemen  and  pensioners  as  those  who  are  alleged 
to  have  seceded. 

One  word,  then,  as  to  the  charge  that  we  give  room  for  mis- 
representation. My  answer  is  ready : — If  our  actions  were  mis- 
chiev\>us  or  improper,  our  enemies  would  have  no  occasion  to 
misrepresent.  They  pay  a  compliment  to  our  integrity  when 
they  resort  to  misrepresentation  ;  they  tacitly  admit  that  the 
fact  would  not  serve  their  purposes,  when  they  distort  it,  in  order 
to  injure  us. 

And,  after  all,  who  can  stay  the  progress  of  misrepresentation^ 
We  have  open  and  avowed  enemies.  We  have  equally  tried 
enemiec,  who  pretend  to  be  our  friends ;  for  their  daily  pay  they 
must  calumniate  and  misrepresent ;  and  for  my  own  part,  I 
should  as  soon  be  angry  with  the  winds  for  shifting  to  an  un- 
pleasant point,  as  I  would  with  any  of  those  pitiful  creatures, 
whose  rancour  is  paid  by  the  day,  and  who,  perhaps,  for  smaller 
pay,  certainly  for  greater,  would  calumniate  the  subjects  of  their 
present  eulogies.  But  while  the  people  of  Ireland  listen  to  the 
dissemination  of  discord  and  dissension,  does  Mr.  Woulfe  and 
his  "seceders"  imagine  that  the  people  will  never  learn  the  wis- 
dom of  union  and  concord  ?  Have  seven  centuries  of  misery 
and  misfortune  not  taught  Ireland  the  source  of  her  woes  ? — is 
she  now  to  learn  that  it  was  by  division  she  was  first  conquered  ? 
— that  it  was  by  the  dissension  of  her  sons  she  was  often  plun- 
dered—and that  it  was  by  their  discord  she  was  finally  erased 
from  the  rank  of  nations,  and  reduced  to  the  form  of  a  province? 

Yes,  Mr.  Chairman  ;  our  enemies  did,  our  enemies  can  at  alJ 
times  succeed  in  Ireland.  The  curse  of  the  country  is  in  that 
spirit  which  leads  Irishmen  to  prefer  a  .contest  with  one  and  the 
another,  to  the  attack  of  the  foes  of  their  religion  and  liberty.  It 
is  quite  characteristic  of  this  ill-fated  land  to  have  Mr.  Woulfe 

2  £ 


126  SELECT  BPEF.CH  F»  OF 

exhaust  thatelo  quence  in  a  sally  against  the  Catholic  Board, 
'vhich  might  be  better  employed  upon  the  opponents  of  his  faith 
and  country.  \vhy  does  he  play  the  Roman  fool,  and  turn  his 
sword  upjh  his  fe.'low-slave^  whilst 'oppressors  are  allowed  by 
him  to  escape  with  impunity  ?  Let  him  expose  one  bigot — let 
him  dosert  and  reprobate  one  prejudice,  and  then,  perhaps,  he 
may  be  entitled  to  war  with  his  fellow-labourers ;  but  if  he  prefer 
to  take  the  same  side  with  the  persecutors,  and  to  strike  at  those 
who  strike  at  them,  let  him  not  wonder  if  he  be  mentioned  amongst 
the  euemies  of  his  country. 

How  often  has  Ireland  been  taken  to  the  market,  and  sold  by 
the  corruption  of  her  own  children  ! — bow  often  has  she  been  be- 
trayed by  the  folly  of  her  own  sous  i  But  a  better  day  opens, 
I  trust,  to  her  view.  Her  Catholic  Board  will  remain  firm  at  ita 
post  until  religious  liberty  isattained.  It  is  cheered  and  rewarded 
by  your  confidence  ;  and  the  "  seceders"  themselves  will,  I  trust, 
soon  learn,  that  unqualified  emancipation  is  our  undoubted* right, 
as  the  active  pursuit  of  it  is  our  first  duty  ;  and  in  that  sacred 
cause  let  the  watchword  be — UNAKIMITY  FOR  OLD  IRELAND  !" 

Well  *a*  it  that  toe  Catholic  mind  was  thai  again  excited  sgainst  the  detestable  M  tecu 
riUrs ;"  M  In  a  very  few  weeks  after,  the  afflicting  Intelligence  was  announced,  that  tlie 
prelate*  appointed  to  administer  ecclesiastical  affairs  at  Rome,  daring 'the  captivity  01  the 
Pope,  littd  not  only  assented  to,  but  approved  of  the* u  securities"  in  the  parliamentary  bill 

the  preceding  year. 

TV  document  itself  which  conveyed  this  disastrous  Marat,  and  which  bore  the  aignatorr 
•Moiwignor  Q.iaraiitotti,  Vice- Prefect  of  Home,"  was  Immediately  published,  in  extent* 
»y  all  the  journals  of  the  United  Kingdom ;  and  exceeding  was  the  jubilee  of  the  enemies 
it  the  reliyion  of  the  Catholics— /W<n<fc  of  their  political  claims,  as  many  of  them  were. 
Corresponding  was  t!»e  grief  and  dismay  of  every  Catholic  of  sound  judgment  aud  sound 
heart ;  but  in  an  equal  measure  was  their  determination  not  even  yet  to  abandon  theii 
opposition  to  the  ruin  of  Uwir  religions  independence. 

A  very  few  brief  extracts  from  the  letter  of  "  An  Irish  Priest,"  which  appeared  in  the 
Dublin  Evening  Pott  the  day  after  Quarantotti's  document  had  been  given,  will  show  too 
spirit  in  which  the  latter  was  met  at  once  .— 

"The  ferment  spread  like  wildfire  through  every  gradation  of  society:  wd  the  very 
.owc.it  order  of  people  felt  its  influence.  Some  cursed— others  moaned— all  complained 
Early  this  rooming  my  old  servant-maid,  without  waiting  for  any  commands  of  mine,  ac- 
costed ire  abruptly  with  these  words :— '  Oh,  air !  what  shall  we  do  ?  Is  it— can  it  be  true. 
Mat  the  Pope  hat  turned  Oranytma*  f  //•- 

•*  I  must  beg  to  correct-two  material  mistakes  of  yours. The  document 

is  not  from  his  Holiness  Pint  VII. Nor  is  them  a  word  to  indicate  ai.y 

sort  of  consent  or  approbation  from  him,  or  any  one  of  his  cardinals.  Quarantottl  refers  to 

no  authority  but  his  own A  clerk  to  the  Congregation  of  Propagand. 

presumes  to  decide  on  a  subject  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  and  which  would  require  the 
deliberation  not  only  of  the  whole  Congregation  and  of  the  Pope  himself,  with  his  wht  Is 
College  of  Cardinals,  but  of  an  entire  (Ecumenical  Council  Kay,  as  it  appertains  to  local 
discipline,  thai  (Ecumenical  Council  itself  could  not  compel  w  to  submit— much  less  an 
anderstrsppcr  of  Propaganda !" 

Aftor  severe  criticism  on  the  Lot***  of  the  lament,  the  writer  thus  proceeded  to 


DANIEL  O'CONNSLTJ,  ESQ.,  M.P.  427 

Utj,>ther  point  ot  attack  —  the  channel  through  which  an  announcement  of  such  injportan-  •> 
to  Ireland  was  made  :  through  an  English  Vicar  Apostolic  !  instead  of,  at  least,  beir.^ 
addressed  to  the  Irish  regularly  constituted  Hierarchy.  We  pass  over  this  and  other  point? 
.trongly  and  warmly  put  and  expressed,  to  give  the  concluding  sentence,  applicable  to  tbe 
circumstances  of  the  present  day,  with  the  single  alteration  of  substituting  the  words 
•  ttlf-styled  liberal  Catholics"  for  the  last  word  here  given  :— 

"  Every  attempt  to  weaken  the  Catholic  Church  in  Ireland  shall,  in  the  end.  prove  fruit 
)en  ;  and  aa  long  as  the  shamrock  shall  adorn  our  island,  so  long  shall  the  faith  delivered. 
to  us  by  St  Patrick  prevail  ;  in  despite  of  kings,  parliaments,  Orangemen,  and  Quar- 


Almost  the  next  newspaper  contained  a  stirring  prptest  and  address  of  clergymen  against, 
this  rescript  by  Quarnntotti  (or  "Mister  Forty.  Eight?  as  the  irrepressible  tendency  to 
Jotting,  In  the  Irish  Catholic,  had  already  christened  him,  in  allusion  to  a  wild  story  about 
the  der1  ration  of  his  patronymic,  said  to  have  been  from  the  number  of  a  lucky  lottery. 
ticket  that  had  made  his  father's  fortunes).  As  the  first  clerical  move  we  give  it  in  full, 
with  the  names  annexed  ;  foremost  among  them,  as  our  readers  will  gladly  recognize,  the 
honoured  name  of  the  revered  and  admirable  present  Bishop  of  Dromore,  the  Right  Rev. 
Dr.  Blake. 

Others  too,  names  of  dearly  loved  and  respected  members  of  the  priesthood  of  Dublin 
at  the  present  day,  will  also  be  gladly  and  warmly  recognised—  and  affectionate  rsgret.i 
will  be  Again  awakened  at  seeing  the  names  of  others  who  have,  at  various  periods  of  the 
long  interval  since  this  act  of  true-hearted  patriotism  and  unerring  religious  fidelity,  gccc 
to  receive  the  reward  of  their  virtuoo. 

'RESOLUTIONS 

"OF  THE   PARISH   PRIKST8   AND   CLERGYMEN   OF  THE  ARCHDIOCESE   OF  DUBLIN, 
"  BK)  1>OB-«TRRKT  OHAPKL,   THURSDAY,    MAY    12 

Wo,  the  undersigned  parish  priest*  and  clergymen  of  the  archdiocese  o'  Dublin,  feel  it 

M  a  duty  that  we  owe  to  GOD,  and  to  our  flocks,  to  make  the  following  pa  blic  declaration  .— 

"  Resolved-  •'  That  we  consider  the  document  or  rescript,  signed  "  Itiiarantotti,    a*  n»n- 

<+ltvaton,  noon  the  Cvniouc  CHURCH  is  IRKLAWD,  particularly  as  it  wants  those  a.itnori- 

tatfve  marks?  whereby  the  mandates  of  the  HOLY  SEE  are  known  and  recognized  a..d  ESI-B- 

*«™atTwc  2SdS  The^Hng  to"  an  anti-Catholic  government  *ny  power,.  either  dlie* 
tr  indirect,  with  regard  to  the  appointment  and  nomination  of  the  Catholic  bishops  in  Ire 

is  country,  r-  consider  the  granting  of-ndi  a  power 


cimunceva      n  , 

n«tonfvinexptMlienN  but  highly  detrimental  to  th«  best  amrdearest  interests  of  religion, 

d  prk-nant  with  incalculable  mischief  to  the  cause  of  Catholicity  in  Irelai.d. 
ana  pre  nan  f  (lomosti(.  nomination  can  be  made  among  tht  energy  or  Ire- 

Md  a*  ill  precluae  "that  foreign  influence  against  which  those  securities,  so  destructive 


SK!^  anadr:rPully  do  hereby  supplicate  our  venerable  arcn- 

and  we  do  hope  that  the  Catholic  clergy  and  laity  of  all  Ireland  will  join  us  in 
pra<,  that  he  and  the  other  Irish  prelates  will,  without  delay,  remonstrate  against  this 
ment  and  represent  to  his  holiness  and  the  &acred  college  of  cardinals,  now  happily 
?n?ai  at  Ron  e  The  peculiar  situation  of  the  Catholic  Church  ,n  Ireland,  and  the  tre- 
raendoastvils  which  we  apprehend  would  inevitably  flow  from  the  adoption  of  the  prin- 
ciples laid  down  in  th«  said  document 


Andrew  Lube  P.P.  Denis  Farrell<  0  S.D. 


" 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

Wi'liam  Yore,  Curate  of  St  James*.  John  Martin   OT>onovan    Cmcp.wn    fn  th« 

J.  Kavanagh,  Curate  of  Francis-st  ChapeL        Honw  of  Industry. 

James  Reynolds,  O.S.F.  Michael  V.  Kinsela,  O.S.F. 

Patrick  PnrcolL  Curate  of  St  Andeon's.  Peter  Wade,  Mary's-Lane  Chapel. 

M.  Doyle,  Cnratc  of  SS.  Michael  A  John'*,  John  Madden,  John's-lane  Chapel. 

Alexander  Roche,        do.  do.  John  Devereux,  Church-street  ChapeL 

Thomas  Coleman,       do.  do.  Andrew  Ennis,  Llffey- street  Chapel. 

M.  Keogh,  Curate  of  Heath- st  Chapel.  John  Francis  Roche,  Clarendon -et  Chape! 

Patrick  Ccrr,  Mary's -lane.  John  Murray,  Swords. 

M.  B.  Corr,  do.  Anthony  Guilfoyle,  O.S.A.  Adam  and  Eve, 

John  C.  Kearney  Frands-street  Chapel.  L.  Plunkett,  O.S.D. 

Stephen  Dowdall,  O.S.F.  Jamea  Carey.  P.P.  Swonfa, 

Francis  Joseph  L' Estrange,  O.D  C.,  Claren-  James  P.  Kenny,  Church-street.      •  •• 

don-street  Chapel.  J.  Leonard,  O.C.E.,  Church-street 

Joseph  O'Hanlon,          do.  do.  John  Grace,  Townsend  street  Chape.. 

Charles  Boyle,  Curate,  Ctontarf.  Simon  M'Carthy,  French  street  Chapel. 

Joseph  Sheridan,  Church-street  ChapeL  Denis  M'Feeley,  Pnrtmamock. 

Michnel  Nowlan,  James'-street  ChapeL  Patrick  Caffrey.  Church -street  Chapel. 

Nicholas  Malone,  Church-street  ChapeL  Patrick  Callaghan,        da         do. 

Walter  Miler,  Curate  of  LifTcy-st  ChapeL  B.  J.  M'Dermott,  S.  Ord,  Pnednx  Curate  of 
Hugh  Daly,  SS.  Michael  A  John's.  Francis-street  ChapeL 

James  Campbell,  Meath-street  ChapeL  Joseph  Glinn,  Liffey-street  ChapeL 

Richard  Fannln,  John's-lane  ChapeL  James  M'Keon,  P.P.,  Flnagh. 

Daniel  Costlgan,  Liffey-street  ChapeL  Denis  Gahan,  O.S.A.,  Curate  St  Catherine's." 

The  Evening  Post  announced  that  the  names  thus  appended  Included  all  the  clergymen 
fct  that  moment  in  the  dty  of  Dublin,  and  ends  its  remark*  upon  the  address  with 
-  DEO  IN  EXCELSIS  r 

Meantime  the  Catholic  and  liberal  newspapers,  with  but  •  e  exception,  were  blazing 
out  in  indignation  against  the  scheme,  and  all  connected  with  it;  and  their  own  articles 
were  accompanied  and,  as  it  were,  sanctioned  by  letter*  from  c'ergymen.  Ac.,  full  of  the 
same  denunciations  and  protest*. 

The  venerable  Dr.  Coppiniter,  Catholic  Bishop  of  Qoyne,  was  first  in  the  field,  of  hi* 
order,  at  this  crisis.  In  a  letter  of  his  that  appear*  In  the  iXibUn  Evening  Pott,  of  May  14* 
he  styled  "Jfr.  QuartmtoftC t  decr*T  a  "  wry  mitchit*nu  document,"  and  added  :- 

"In  common  with  every  real  friend  to  the  integrity  of  the  Catholic  religion  in  Ireland, 
I  read  it  with  feelings  of  disgust  and  indignation !  " 

In  similar  strong  terms  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Dromore,  the  Right  ReT.  Dr.  Derry,  fol- 
lowed a  few  days  later. 

Right  Rev.  Dr.  O'Shaughnessy  :— 

"The  result  of  this  pernicious  document,  if  acted  upon,  wroiW  be  fatal  to  the  CatLulie 
religion  ;  therefore  I  hasten  to  protest  against  it,  and  while  I  have  breath  ia  my  body  will 
continue  to  do »o." 

What  we  have  given  were  the  first— almost  instantaneous  demonstrations.  It  would  be 
utterly  Impossible  to  give  even  a  summary  of  tho»e  which  rapidly  and  In  overwhelming 
•umbers  and  increasing  strength  followed  them. 

On  Thursday,  May  19th,  an  aggregate  meeting  took  place  at  the  FarmraR  Repository. 
Stephen's-green,  Thomas  Wyse,  junv  Esq.,  in  the  Chair  (the  present  member  tor  Waterfo* 
|ty),  to  consider  the  rescript  of  Quarantotti,  and  other  Catholic  business. 

The  following  were  the  pith  and  marrow  of  the  resolution*  which  were  unanimously  pasted 
on  this  occasion : — 

«  Resolvod—Thftt  we  deem  it  a  duty  to  ourselres  and  to  our  country, 
solemnly  and  distinctly  to  dcdare,  that  any  DECREE,  MANDATE,  RESCRIPT, 

OR  DECISION   WHATSOEVER  OF   ANT  FOREIGN  POWER  OR  AUTHORITY,  RB- 

UGIOUS  OR  CIVIL,  ought  not,  and  cannot  of  right,  assume  any  dominion 
or  control  over  the  political  concerns  of  the  Catholico  of  Ireland. 

"Resolved — That  the  venerable  and  venerated  the  Catholic  PRIESTS 
of  the  arch-diocese  of  Dublin  have  deferred  our  moot  marked  and  cor- 
dial gratitude,  as  well  for  the  uniform  fcmor  of  their  sanctified  lives,  M 


EL  uCONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  \*2% 

to  particular  for  the  HOLY  ZEAL  AND  ALACRITY  with  which  at  the  pre- 
sent period  of  general  alarm  and  consternation,  they  have  consoled  the 
people  of  Ireland,  by  the  public  declaration  of  their  sentiments  respect- 
ing the  mischievous  document,  signed  B.  QUAEANTOTTI,  and  dispose  them 
to  await  with  confidence  the  decision  of  our  revered  prelates  at  the  ap- 
proaching synod. 

"  Resolved  —  That  we  do  most  earnestly  and  respectfully  beseech  ovir 
revered  prelates  to  take  into  consideration,  at  the  approaching  synod,  the 
propriety  of  for  ever  precluding  any  public  danger  either  of  MINIS- 
TERIAL or  FOREIGN  influence  in  the  appointment  of  our  prelates. 

Mr.  O'Connell's  speech  at  the  aggregate  meeting  is  given  in  evidently  a  very  imperfect 
•hape  indeed.  It  had  three  chief  points  :—  first,  a  protest  against  the  recent  steps  taken  in 
favour  of  the  veto;  next,  a  vindication  of  the  confluct  of  the  clergy  of  the  archdiocese  of 
Dublin,  who  had  so  nobly  come  forward  against  that  measure,  and  an  expression  of  confi- 
dence that  the  hierarchy  would  soon  fulminate  against  it  ;  and  finally,  a  contemptuous 
and  indignant  comment  upon  some  peculiarly  bigoted  and  peculiarly  absurd  anti-Catho- 
lic resolutions  of  several  county  grand  juries. 

The  bishops'  protest  was  as  follows,  agreed  to  cu  the  27th  of  Hay,  after  two  days'  comm- 
ence at  Maynooth  :— 

"  Resolved—  That  a  congratulatory  letter  be  addressed  to  his  Holiness 
Pius  VII.,  on  his  happy  liberation  from  captivity. 

"  Resolved  —  That  having  taken  into  our  mature  consideration  the  late 
RESCRIPT  of  the  VICE-PREFECT  of  the  PROPAGANDA,  we  are  fully  convinced 
that  it  is  not  mandatory. 

"Resolved  —  That  we  do  now  open  a  communication  with  the  HOLY  SEE 
on  the  subject  of  this  document  ;  and  that,  for  this  purpose,  two  PRELATES 
be  forthwith  deputed  to  convey  our  unanimous  and  well-known  senti- 
ments to  the  CHIEF  PASTOR,  from  whose  wisdom,  zeal,  and  tried  mag- 
nanimity, we  have  reason  to  expect  such  decision  as  will  give  general 
satisfaction. 

"  Resolved  _  That  the  two  last  resolutions  be  respectfully  communi- 
cated to  the  Right  Honourable  the  EARL  OF  DONOUGHMORE,  and  to  the 
RHit  Honourable  HENRY  GRATTAN,  with  an  earnest  entreaty,  that  when 
the3  question  of  Catholic  Emancipation  shall  be  discussed  in  Parliament, 
they  will  exert  their  powerful  talent  in  excluding  from  the  bill  intended 
for  our  relief,  thoseclauses  which  we  have  already  deprecated  as  severely 
renal  to  us,  and  highly  injurious  to  our  religion.  " 


We  must  hurry  on  our  summary  of  the  feat-crowding  events  of  this  stirring  year,  with 
**  little  of  comment  as  is  possible,  consistent  with  preserving  the  slender  thread  of  out 

"^unsatisfactory  correspondence  between  the  Catholic  Board  and  Lord  Donougluuore 
and  Mr  Grattan  continued  in  the  same  mixed  style  of  compliment  and  remonstrance  until 
early  in  June,  when,  without  warning  to  those  who  had  entrusted  him  with  the  Catholk 
petition  to  the  lower  House,  and  without  consultation  ™th  any  one,  Mr.  Grat  an  when  pw. 
Anting  the  petition,  announced  that  it  *«  not  his  intention  to  bring  forward  the  Catholic 


a  was  instantly  summoned  to  consider  this  unexpected  event,  ami 

decide  on  what  steps  it  might  be  proocr  to  ta*»  under  the  circumstance-,  wnen  suddenly  the 
fjitowing  prociauiartoa  "uule  its  appearance. 


•JW  t>  .LCCT  fc 

•'  \Vnn  WOKTH 

"  Whereiuan  assembly,  under  the  denomination  of  the  Catholic  Board 
h»w  for  a  considerable  time  existed  in  this  part  of  the  United  Kin»d.  m, 
tinder  pretence  of  preparing  petitions  to  parliament  on  behalf  of  the  Ca- 
tholics f  f  Ireland. 

•4  And  whereas,  under  the  provisions  of  an  act  made  in  the  parliament 
of  Ireland,  in  the  thirty-third  yetir  of  the  reign  of  his  present  Majesty, 
intituled — *  An  act  to  prevent  the  Election  or  Appointment  of  Unlawful 
Assemblies,  under  the  pretence  of  preparing  public  petitions  or  other 
addresses  to  his  Majesty,  or  to  the  parliament' — The  said  assembly  is  an 
unlawful  assembly. 

"  And  whereas,  great  artifice  has  been  employed  in  order  to  persuad 
the  public  generally  and  his  Majesty's  Roman  Catholic  subjects  in  Ire- 
land in  particular,  that  such  an  assembly  is  lawful  and  necessary  to  the 
exercise  of  the  ri^ht  of  petitioning. 

"  And  whereas,  the  law  hath  hitherto  not  been  enforced  against  the  said 
assembly,  in  the  expectation  that  those  who  had  been  misled  by  such  arti- 
fice would  become  sensible  of  their  error ;  and  in  the  hope  that  the  said 
assembly  would  be  discontinued  without  the  necessity  of  legal  interpo- 
sition. 

Now  we,  the  LordLieutenant,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
his  Majesty's  Privy  Council,  being  oatisfied  that  the  permanence,  or  the 
further  continuance  of  the  said  assembly  can  only  tend  to  serve  the  ends 
of  factious  and  seditious  persons,  and  to  theViolation  of  the  public  peace, 

"  Do  nereby  strictly  caution  and  forewarn  all  such  of  his  Majesty's  sub- 
jects as  are  members  of  the  said  assembly,  that  they  do  henceforward 
abstain  from  any  further  attendance  at  or  in  the  said  assembly 

**  And  do  hereby  j;ive  notice . 

"  That  if,  in  deliance  of  this  our  proclamation,  the  said  assembly  shall 
again  meet  after  the  date  hereof,  the  said  assembly  and  all  persons  act- 
ug  as  members  of  the  same,  shall  be  proceeded  against  according  to 
law. 

Given  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Dublin,  this  third  day  of  June,  1814. 

CHARLES  MANNERS,  (Lord  Chancellor).     FRANKFORT. 

CHARLES  CASIIEL.  J.  M*MAHON. 

DROOHEDA.  G.  HEWETT. 

WESTMEATH.  G.  K >< > \ 

MAYO.  J.  ORMSBY  VANDELEUB. 

ERNE.  WILLIAM  SAL-KIN. 

CHARLES  KILDARE.  8.  HAMILTON." 

CASTLE  COOTE. 

li,  Till  thus  be  seen  that  the  Catholics  had  their  hands  pretty  fall !  The  unauthorised 
cai'ttvlaH-m  with  the  British  Government  as  to  Irish  ecclesiastical  independence,  by  Quar- 
artt.tti;  the  folly  and  treachery  that  were  backing  him  in  Ireland;  the  extraordinary 
abandonment  (as,  at  least  for  the  current  session  of  parliament,  it  was)  of  their  cause  by 
Ita  olil  parliamentary  advocates ;  and  now  the  renewed  activity  of  hostility  on  the  part  ol 
the  government— all  this  might  well  hare  been  expected  to  dismay  the  faint-hearted,  and 
chill  tho  hopes  of  the  brave. 

But  the  cause  was  not  wnrfer  the  guidance  of  a  faint  heart ;  or  of  one  whose  toMer  concep 
th«»  needed  fal»  skle»  and  Mimroei  weather  to  r«;>en  tbcm  into  action  A  iner.ti'ig  »*• 


DANIEL  n'COXNKL,t.  ESQ.,  tn.r.  .         4oi 

nnmedlately  held  in  Mr.  O'Connell's  hoi»e,  in  Merrion -atjtuire,  at  which  it  was  resolved,  of 
course,  to  snbmit  to  the  government,  in  so  far  as  tiie  abstaining  from  assemtling  at  that 
moment  the  Catholic  Board ;  but  at  the  same  time  to  summon  at  once  another  aggregate 
Catholic  meeting,  to  consider  the  most  advisable  course  to  be  pursued  at  so  important  and 
difficult  a  juncture. 

As  any  work  dealing  with  the  public  life  of  Daniel  O'Connell,  must  necessarily  partake, 
more  or  less,  of  the  character  of  a  politic*!  history  of  Ireland  during  his  time,  we  cannot 
think  it  out  of  place  to  insert  here  a  "«harge"  made  by  the  late  Baron  Fletcher,  to  the 
county  Wexford  grand  jury  in  the  year  1813 — a  charge  which  astonished  every  owe  by 
the  boldness  and  directness  with  which  it  went  to  the  very  roots  of  the  social  evils  of 
Ireland ;  ai'.d  which  to  this  daj  is  applicable  in  many  parts,  and  deeply  interesting  !D  a'J 

The  learned  judge  said  : — 

"  In  mv  circuits  through  other  parte  of  the  kingdom,  I  have  seen  tb. 
lower  orders  of  the  people  disturbed  by  many  causes,  not  peculiar  to  an) 
particular  counties;  operating  with  more  effect  in  some,  but  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  in  all.  I  have  seen  them  operating  with  extended  effect 
hi  the  north-west  circuit— in  the  counties  of  Mayo,  Donegal,  Derry, 
RoHConamon,  &c.,  &c. 

"  These  effects  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  my  mind.  My  ob- 
servations certainly,  have  been  those  of  an  individual ;  but  of  an  indi- 
vidual seeing  the  same  facts  coming  before  him,  judicially,  time  after 
time  ;  and  I  do  now  publicly  state  that  never,  during  the  entire  period 
of  mv  judicial  experience  (comprising  sixteen  circuits),  have  I  discovered 
»r  observed  any'  serious  purpose,  or  settled  scheme,  of  assailing  his 
Majesty's  government,  or  any  conspiracy  connected  with  internal 
rebel*  or  foreign  foes.  But  various  deep-rooted  and  neglected  causes 
producing  similar  effects  throughout  this  country,  have  conspired  to 
create  the  evils  which  really  and  truly  do  exist. 
*  ****** 

"In  the  next  place,  the  county  has  seen  a  magistracy,  over-active  in 
,ome  instances,  and  quite  supine  in  others.  This  circumstance  has  ma- 
•erially  affected  the  administration  of  the  laws  in  Ireland.  In  this  re- 
jpect,  I  have  found  that  those  societies  called  ORANGE  SOCIETIES  have 
produced  most  mischievous  effects,  and  particularly  in  the  north  of  Ire- 
And.  They  poison  the  very  fountains  of  justice  :  and  even  some  ma- 
gistrates, under  their  influence  have,  in  too  many  instances,  violated 
'tfieir  duty  and  their  oaths.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  ALL  associa- 
jions,  of  every  description,  in  this  country,  whether  of  ORANGEMEN  or 
KfBBONMFN— whether  distinguished  by  the  colour  of  orange  er  of 
-wen—all  combinations  of  persons,  bound  to  each  other  bjthe  obliga- 
tion of  an  oath,  in  a  league  for  a  common  purpose,  endangering  the 
peace  of  the  country,  I  pronounce  them  to  be  contrary  to  law  And 
'hould  it  ever  come  before  me  to  decide  upon  the  question,  IshaU  not 
hesitate  to  send  up  bills  of  indictment  to  a  grand  jury,  against  the  indi- 
viduals, members  of  such  an  association,  wherever  I  can  find  the  chargf 

^'""Onhb'l  ascertain,  that  so  long  as  those  associations  are  permit 

>  >d  to  act  in  the  lawless  manner  they  do,  there  will  be  no  tranquillity 

,  ,  tlm  country,  and  particularly  in  the  north  of  Ireland.     There  those 

rrbers  of  the  pub lie  peace,  who  assume  the  niune  of  Orange  yeomen. 


43*J  Si.Li.CT  SPEECHES  Of 

frequent  the  fairs  and  markets,  with  arms  in  their  hands,  under  the 
pretence  of  self-defence  or  of  protecting  the  public  peace,  but  with  the 
lurking  view  of  inviting  the  attacks  from  the  Ribbonraen  confident  that, 
armed  as  they  are,  they  must  overcome  defenceless  opponents,  and  put 
them  down.  Murders  have  been  repeatedly  perpetrated  upon  such  occa- 
sions ;  and  though  legal  prosecutions  have  ensued,  yet  such  have  been 
the  baneful  consequences  of  those  factious  associations,  that,  under  their 
influence,  petty  juries  have  declined  (upon  some  occasions)  to  do  their 

duty. 
********* 

"  Gentlemen,  that  moderate  pittance  which  the  high  rents  leave  t<i 
the  poor  peasantry,  the  large  county  assessments  nearly  take  from  them. 
Roads  are  frequently  planned  and  made,  not  for  the  general  advantage 
of  the  county,  but  to  suit  the  particular  views  of  a  neighbouring  land- 
holder, at  the  public  expense.  Such  abuses  shake  the  very  foundation 
of  the  law ;  they  ought  to  be  checked. 

"  Superadded  to  these  mischiefs  are  the  permanent  and  occasional 
absentee  landlords,  residing  in  another  country,  not  known  to  their 
tenantry,  but  by  their  agents,  who  extract  the  utmost  penny  of  the 
value  of  the  lands.  If  a  lease  happens  to  jail  in,  they  set  the  farm  by 
public  auction  to  t/w  highest  bidder.  Ao  gratitude  for  past  services ; 
no  preference  of  the  fair  offer ;  no  predilection  for  the  ancient  tenantry  : 
be  they  ever  so  deserving ;  but  if  the  highest  price  be  not  acceded  to,  tin 
depopulation  of  an  entire  tract  of  country  ensues. 

"What,  then,  is  the  wretched  peasant  to  dof  Chased  from  the  spot 
where  he  had  first  drawn  his  breath,  wh^re  he  had  first  seen  the  light  of 
heaven,  incapable  of  procuring  any  other  means  oj  existence,  vexed  with 
those  exactions  I  have  enumerated,  and  harassed  by  the  payment  of 
tithes,  can  we  be  surprised  that  a  peasant  of  unenlightened  mind,  of 
uneducated  habits,  should  rush  upon  the  perpetration  of  crimes,  fol- 
lowed by  the  punishment  of  the  rope  and  the  gibbet  f 

"Nothing,  as  the  peasantry  imagine,  remains  for  them,  thus  harassed, 
and  thus  destitute,  but  with  strong  hand  to  dxiter  the  stranger  from  in- 
truding upon  their  farms ;  and  to  extort  from  the  weakness  and  terror 
of  their  landlords,  (from  whose  gratitude  or  good  feelings  they  have 
tailed  to  win  it)  a  kind  of  preference  for  their  ancient  tenantry." 


The  learned  judge  next  turned  to  the  evils  not  even  yet  quite  abated— the  jury  law. 
ft  is  to  be  recollected  that  the  grand  juries  were  entirely  (and  are  still,  in  mauv  insuuudB/ 
in  the  hands  of  the  ascendancy  faction. 

"  Gentlemen,  another  deep-rooted  cause  of  immorality  has  been  tht 
operation  of  the  county  presentment  code  of  Ireland — abused  as  it  has 
been  for  the  purpose  of  fraud  and  peculation,  will  you  not  be  astonished 
Fhen  I  assure  you  that  I  have  had  information  judicially  from  an  up- 
right country  gentleman  and  grand  juror,  of  unquestionable  veracity 
in  a  western  county,  that  in  the  general  practice,  not  one  in  ten  of  tlie 
accounting  affidavits  was  actually  sworn  at  all !  Magistrates  have  signed 
and  given  away  printed  forms  of  such  affidavits  in  blank,  to  be  mVd 


DANTKL  O'COX^KLL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  433 

np  at  the  pleasure  of  the  party.  This  abuse  produced  a  strong  repre- 
sentation from  me  to  the  grand  jury ;  and  had  I  known  the  fact  in  time, 
I  would  have  made  an  example  of  those  magistrates  who  were  guilty  of 
i»o  scandalous  a  dereliction  of  duty.  Another  source  of  immorality 
may  be  traced  in  the  registry  of  freeholders.  The  tenantry  are  driven 
to  the  hustings,  and  there,  collected  like  sheep  in  a  pen,  they  mustpol) 
for  the  great  undertaker,  who  has  purchased  them  by  his  jobs,  and  this 
is  frequently  done  with  little  regard  to  conscience  or  duty,  or  reul  value 
tf  the  alleged  freehold . 

"Another  source  of  immorality  lay  in  the  hasty  mode  of  pronouncing 
decrees  upon  civil  bills,  which  was  common  before  assistant-barristers 
were  nominated  for  the  several  counties.  All  these  concurring  causes, 
however,  created  such  a  contempt  for  oaths,  that  I  have  often  lamented 
it  to  be  my  painful  lot  to  preside  in  a  court  of  justice,  and  to  be  obliged 
ro  listen  to  such  abominable  profanations." 
*  *  *  *  *'*  *  *  *  *** 

The  next  matters  touched  upon  in  this  admirable  address  come  upon  us  Kke  au  echo 
from  the  debates  on  Ireland  of  no  very  remote  date ;  instead  of,  as  the  recital  of  words  ut- 
tered in  a  time  barely  within  the  memory  of  the  present  generation. 

"  But,  gentlemen,  is  there  no  method  of  allaying  those  discomeats  of 
the  people,  and  preventing  them  from  flying  in  the  face  of  the  laws  ? 
Is  there  no  remedy  but  act  of  parliament  after  act  of  parliament,  in 
quick  succession,  framed  for  coercing  and  punishing  ?  Is  there  no  COF- 
rective  but  the  rope  and  the  gibbet  ?  Yes,  gentlemen  ;  the  removal  of 
those  causes  of  disturbance  which  I  have  mentioned  to  you  will  ope- 
rate as  the  remedy ! 

"  I  should  imagine  that  the  permanent  absentees  ought  to  see  the 
policy  (if  no  better  motive  can  influence  them)  of  appropriating  liberally 
some  part  of  those  splendid  revenues  which  they  draw  from  this  coun- 
try— which  pay  no  land-tax  or  poor's  rate,  and  of  which  not  a  shilling 
is  expended  in  this  country !  Is  it  not  high  time  for  those  permanent 
absentees  to  offer  some  assistance,  originating  from  themselves,  out  of 
their  own  private  purses,  towards  improving  and  ameliorating  the  con- 
dition of  the  lower  orders  of  the  peasantry  upon  their  great  domains, 
and  rendering  their  lives  more  comfortable.  Indeed,  I  believe  that 
.some  of  them  do  not  set  up  their  lands  to  auction.  I  know  that  the 
Earl  Fitzwilliam,  in  one  county  (Wicklow),  and  the  Marquis  of  Hertford, 
in  another  (Antrim),  act  upon  enlightened  and  liberal  principles ;  for 
although  their  leases  generally  are  only  leases  for  one  life,  and  twenty- 
one  years,  the  tenant  in  possession  well  knows  that,  upon  a  reasonable 
advance,  merely  proportionate  to  the  general  rise  of  the  times,  he  will 
get  his  farm  without  ruck-rent  or  extortion.  But  I  say  that  the  per- 
manent abeentees  ought  to  know  that  it  is  their  interest  to  contribute 
every  thing  in  their  power,  and  within  the  sphere  of  their  extensive  in- 
fluence, towards  the  improvement  of  a  country  frotr*  whence  they  de- 
rive such  ample  revenue  and  solid  benefits.  Instead  of  doing  so,  how 
do  many  of  them  act?  They  often  depute  their  manager  upon  the 
graiiujury  of  the  county.  "JV*  manager  gets  his  jobs  douc  v»itU>ul 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

question  or  interruption  ;  his  roads,  and  his  bridges,  and  hia  park  walla 
— all  are  conceded. 

*'  For  my  part,  I  am  wholly  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  those  perma- 
nent absentees  can  reconcile  it  to  their  feelings  or  their  interests  tc 
remain  silent  spectators  of  such  a  state  of  things,  or  how  they  can 
forbear  to  raise  their  voices  in  behalf  of  their  unhappy  country,  and 
attempt  to  open  the  eyes  of  our  English  neighbours,  who,  generally 
ipeaking,  know  about  as  much  of  the  Irish  as  they  do  of  the  Hindoos 
Does  a  visitor  come  to  Ireland  to  compile  a  book  of  travels  ?  What  is 
his  course  ?  He  ia  handed  about  from  one  country  gentleman  to  another, 
all  interested  in  concealing  from  him  the  true  state  of  the  country ;  he 
passes  from  squire  to  squire,  each  rivalling  the  other  in  entertaining 
their  guest — all  busy  in  pouring  falsehoods  into  his  ears  touching 
the  disturbed  state  of  the  country  and  the  vicious  habits  of  the  people. 

"  Such  is  the  crusade  of  information  which  the  English  traveller  sets 
forward,  and  he  returns  to  his  country  with  all  his  unfortunate  preju- 
dices'doubled  and  confirmed*  in  a  kind  of  moral  despair  oftlie  welfare 
of  such  a  wicked  race,  having  made  up  his  mind  that  nothing  ought 
to  be  done  for  this  lawless  and  degraded  country.  And,  indeed,  such 
an  extravagant  excess  have  those  intolerant  opinions  <»f  the  state  of 
Ireland  attained,  that  I  shall  not  be  surprised  to  hear  of  some  political 
projector  coming  forward,  and  renovating  the  obsolete  ignorance  and 
the  prejudices  of  a  Harrington,  who,  in  his  *  Oceana,'  calls  the  people 
of  Ireland  an  untam cable  race,  declaring  that  they  ought  to  be  exter- 
minated, and  the  country  colonized  by  Jews ;  that  thus  the  state  of 
this  island  would  be  bettered,  and  the  commerce  of  England  extended 
and  improved. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  will  tell  you  what  these  absentees  ought  particularly 
to  do.  They  ought  to  promote  the  establishment  of  houses  of  refuge, 
uouses  of  industry,  and  schoolhouses,  and  set  the  example,  upon  their 
own  estates,  of  building  decent  cottages,  so  that  the  Irish  peasant  may 
have  at  least  the  comfort  of  an  *  English  sow;'  for  an  English  farmer 
would  refuse  to  eat  the  flesh  of  a  hog  so  lodged  and  fed  as  an  Irian 
peasant  is. 

"Are  the  farms  of  an  English  landholder  out  of  lease,  or  his  cottages 
in  a  state  of  dilapidation  ?  He  rebuilds  every  one  of  them  for  his  ten- 
ants, or  he  covenants  to  supply  them  with  materials  for  the  purpose 
But  how  are  matters  conducted  in  this  country  ?  Why,  if  there  is  9 
house  likely  to  fall  into  ruins  upon  an  expiring  lease,  the  new  rack-reiu 
tenant  must  rebuild  it  himself;  and  can  you  wonder  if  your  plantation* 
are  visited  for  the  purpose,  if  your  young  trees  are  turned  into  plough 
handles,  spade  handles,  or  roofs  for  their  cabins  ?  They  are  more  thui. 
Egyptian  task-masters,  who  call  for  bricks  without  furnishing  a  supplj 
of  straw.  Again,  I  say,  that  those  occasional  absentees  ought  to  come 
home,  and  not  remain  abroad,  resting  upon  the  local  manager,  a  species 
of '  locum  tenens'  Upon  the  grand  jury.  They  should  reside  upon  their 
own  estates,  and  come  forward  with  every  possible  improvement  for  the 
country. 

"  I  do  not  suppose  that  you  should  expect  any  immediate  amendment 


DAXTRT,  OCONTTTXL,  ESQ.,  IT. P. 

or  public  benefit  from  the  plans  suggested  for  the  education  of  the  poor 
It  i.s  in  vain  to  flatter  yourselves  that  you  can  improve  their  minds  if 
you  neglect  their  bodies.  Where  have  you  ever  heard  of  a  people  de- 
*irous  of  education,  who  had  not  clothes  to  cover  them,  or  bread  to  eat? 
1  nave  never  known  that  any  people,  under  such  circumstances,  had  any 
appetite  for  moral  instruction. 

«  So  much,  gentlemen,  for  landlords,  permanent  and  occasional  ab- 
sentees. You  should  begin  the  necessary  reformation.  You  now  enjoy 
somforts  and  tranquillity,  after  seasons  of  storm,  and  fever,  and  distur- 
oance.  The  comparative  blessings  of  this  contrast  should  make  you 
anxious  to  keep  your  county  tranquil.  .  If  your  farms  fall  out  of  lease, 
set  them  not  up  to  be  let  by  public  auction — encourage  your  tenantry 
to  build  comfortable  dwellings  for  themselves— give  them  a  property  iu 
their  farms,  and  an  interest  in  the  peace  of  the  county.  These  are  the 
remedies  for  the  discontents  of  the  people;  they  will  be  found  muds 
better  than  the  cord  and  the  gibbet. 

********* 
"  Gentlemen,  this  subject  brings  me  to  a  consideration  of  the  magis- 
tracy of  the  county.  Of  these  I  must  say  that  some  are  over  zealous ; 
others  too  supine.  Distracted  into  parties,  they  are  too  often  governed 
by  their  private  passions,  to  the  disgrace  of  public  justice,  and  the  fre- 
quent disturbance  of  the  country. 

"  Here  let  me  solicit  your  particular  attention  to  some  of  the  grievous 
mischiefs  flowing  from  the  misconduct  of  certain  magistrates ;  one  is 
occasioned  by  an  excessive  eagerness  to  crowd  the  jails  with  prisoner's, 
and  to  swell  the  calendars  with  crimes.  Hence,  the  amazing  dispro- 
portion between  the  number  of  the  committals  and  of  the  convictions 
— between  accusation  and  evidence — between  hasty  suspicion  and  actual 
guilt.  Committals  have  been  too  frequently  made  out,  in  other  coun- 
ties, upon  light  and  trivial  grounds,  without  reflecting  upon  the  evil 
consequences  of  wresting  a  peasant  (probably  innocent)  from  the  bosom 
of  his  family — immuring  him  for  weeks  or  months  in  a  noisome  jail, 
amongst  vicious  companions.  He  is  afterwards  acquitted,  or  not  pro- 
secuted, and  returns  a  lost  man  in  health  and  morals,  to  his  ruined  and 
beggared  family.  This  is  a  hideous  but  common  pfcture. 

"  Again,  fines  and  forfeited  recognizances  are  multiplied,  through  the 
misconduct  of  a  magistrate.  He  binds  over  a  prosecutor,  under  a  heavy 
recognizance,  to  attend  at  a  distant  assizes,  where  it  is  probable  that 
the  man's  poverty  or  private  necessities  must  prevent  his  attending. 
The  man  makes  default ;  his  recognizance  is  forfeited  ;  he  is  committed 
to  the  county  jail  upon  a  green-wax  process ;  and,  after  long  confine- 
ment, he  is  finally  discharged  at  the  assizes,  pursuant  to  the  statute ; 
and  from  an  industrious  cottier,  he  is  degraded,  from  thenceforth,  into 
a  beergar  and  a  vagrant. 

"  Other  magistrates  presume  to  make  out  vague  committals,  without 
specifying  the  day  of  the  oflence  charged,  the  place,  or  any  other  parti- 
cular, from  which  the  unfortunate  prisoner  could  have  notice  to  prepare 
his  defence.  This  suppression  is  highly  indecorous,  unfeeling  and 
unjust ;  jwid  it  deserves  upor  every  occasion,  a  severe  reprobation  of  the 


4SG  BELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

«nagistrfcte,  who  «'hus  deprives  his  fellow-subject  of  his  rightful  oppor- 
tunity  of  defence. 

"  There  are  parts  of  Ireland,  where,  from  the  absence  of  the  gentle- 
men of  the  comity,  a  race  of  magistrates  has  sprung  up,  who  ought 
*ever  have  borne  the  king's  commission.     The  vast  powers  entr 
lo  those  officers,  call  for  an  upright,  zealous,  and  conscientious  discharge 
«»f  their  duty. 
«v*  *  *  *  *  *  w 

"  Gentlemen,  the  judge  whose  duty  it  is  to  pass  the  presentments  can 
be  of  little  service  towards  detecting  a  'job.  lie  has  no  local  know- 
ledge ;  he  knows  not  the  distances,  the  rates,  the  state  of  repairs,  or 
the  views  of  the  parties.  He  may,  indeed,  suspect  the  job,  and  tear  the 
suspected  presentment ;  but  he  may  tear  inadvertently  that  which  is 
useful,  and  let  the  job  pass.  Therefore  for  the  sake  of  the  county,  do 
as  Mr.  Bagwell  did  at  Clonmel.  Begin  the  reformation,  and  discoun- 
tenance firmly  all  parcelling  of  'jobs.' 

"  Gentlemen,  when  I  visited  the  House  of  Industry  at  Clonmel,  which 
is  liberally  and  conscientiously  conducted  by  an  association,  consi.Min- 
of  persons  of  every  religious  persuasion,  with  the  Protestant  parson  and 
the  Catholic  priest  at  their  head,  never  did  my  eyes  witness  a  more 
blessed  sight.  I  immediately  asked :  *  What  do  you  pay  to  the  matron 
and  to  the  manager  ?'  The  sum  was  mentioned :  it  was  small.  *  I  sup- 
pose,' said  I, '  it  is  no  object  of  a  county  job  ?'  Mr.  Grubb — the  bene- 
volent Mr.  Grubb— smiled,  and  said, '  You  have  hit  it,  my  lord— that 
is  the  fact!' 

"  But  there  is  one  remedy  that  would,  in  my  estimation,  more  than 
any  other,  especially  contribute  to  soothe  the  minds  of  the  discontented 
peasantry,  and  thereby  to  enable  them  patiently  to  suffer  the  pressure  of 
those  burthens  which  cannot,  under  existing  circumstances,  be  effectu- 
ally removed — I  mean  the  equal  and  impartial  administration  of  jus 
tice — of  that  justice  which  the  rich  man  can  pursue  until  it  be  attained 
but  which,  that  it  may  benefit  the  cottager,  should  be  brought  home  t«i 
his  door.  Such  an  administration  of  justice  would  greatly  reconcile 
the  lower  orders  of  the  people  with  the  government  under  which  they 
live ;  and  at  no  very  distant  period,  I  hope,  attach  them  to  the  law,  by 
imparting  its  benefits  and  extending  its  protection  to  them  in  actual 
and  uniform  experience. 

"  Gentlemen,  if  you  ask  me,  *  How  may  this  be  accomplished  Y  \ 
answer, '  By  a  vigilant  superintendence  of  the  administratiim  of  justice 
at  quarter  sessions,  and  an  anxious  observance  of  the  conduct  of  all 
Justices  of  peace.'  Perhaps  the  commission  of  the  peace  in  every 
county  in  the  kingdom  should  be  examined.  In  seasons  of  popular 
commotion,  under  chief  governors,  all  acting,  unquestionably,  with  g(»od 
intentions,  but  upon  various  principles  and  different  views,  it  is  no4 
improbable  that  many  men  have  crept  into  the  commission,  who,  hoircrer 
imefal  they  might  occasionally  have  been,  ought  not  to  remain.  The 
ncetly  adventurer ;  the  hunter  for  preferment ;  the  intemperate  z&tlot ; 
Vic  trader  in  false  loyalty,'  the  jobbers  of  -ibseniees; — if  any  of  these 
.<tuio(>*  '.escr'i;U».iis  of  individuals  are  uow  to  be  found,  their 


UANIEL  O'OOXNELL,  ESQ.,  M.F.  437 

diould  be  expunged  from  the  commission  ;  and  if  such  a  mode  of  pro 
ceedings  should  thiii  the  commission,  vacancies  might  be  supplied,  by 
soliciting  every  gentleman  of  property  and  consideration  to  discharge 
lome  part  of  that  debt  of  duty,  which  he  owes  to  himself  and  the  coun- 
try, by  accepting  the  office  of  justice  of  peace  Should  their  number 
be  inadequate  to  supply  the  deficiency,  clergymen  long  resident  on  their 
benefices  —  more  inclined  to  fellow  the  precepts  of  their  divine  Master, 
by  feeding  the  hungry  and  clothing  the  naked  Catholic  (although  adher- 
ing to  the  communion  of  his  fathers,  he  should  conscientiously  decline 
to  receive  from  him  spiritual  consolation)  :  not  harassing  and  vexing 
him  by  a  new  mode  of  tithing,  and  an  increase  of  tithes  ;  not  seeking 
to  compensate  the  dissentients  from  the  communion  for  the  income  he 
derives  from  their  labour  by  showing  a  regard  for  their  temporal  wel- 
fare ;  attached  to  their  Protestant  flocks  by  a  mutual  interchange  of 
good  offices,  by  affection  and  by  habit.  Such  a  man,  anxiously  endea- 
vouring not  to  distract  and  divide,  but  to  conciliate  and  reconcile  all 
aects  and  parties,  would  from  his  education,  his  leisure,  his  local  know- 
ledge, be  a  splendid  acquisition  to  the  magistracy,  and  a  public  blessing 
to  the  district  committed  to  his  care.  Men  of  this  description  are 
retired  and  unobtrusive  ;  but  I  trust,  if  sought  after,  many  such  may  be 
found. 

«•  Persons  there  have  been  of  a  sort  differing  widely  from  those  I  have 
described.  These  men  identify  their  preferment  with  the  welfare  of  the 
Church  ;  and  if  you  had  believed  them,  whatever  advanced  the  one, 
necessarily  promoted  the  other.  Some  clergymen  there  may  have  been, 
who,  in  a  period  of  distraction,  perusing  the  Old  Testament  with  more 
attention  than  the  New  ;  and,  admiring  the  glories  of  Joshua,  the  son 
of  Run,  fancied  they  perceived  in  the  Catholics  the  Canaanites  of  old  ; 
and,  at  the  head  of  militia  and  armed  yeomanry,  wished  to  conquer 
from  them  the  promised  glebe.  Such  men,  I  hope,  are  not  now  to  be 
found  in  that  most  respectable  order  ;  and  if  they  are,  I  need  scarcely 
;xld,  they  should  no  longer  remain  in  the  commission." 

The  necessity  of  hastening  with  onr  task  compels  the  omission  of  several  details  of  the 
anti-veto  agitation,  and  reduces  ns  to  the  summary  statement  of  the  proceedings  on  thw 


nuy  an  address,  pompously  announced  M  from  the  Catholics  of  England,  to  Bin  HoM- 
008  the  Pope,  made  its  appearance  in  the  public  papers.  Its  tenor  was  unhappy  and 
unworthy,  containing,  as  it  did,  unequivocal  manifestations  of  the  spirit  of  compromise  and 
surrender  and  landing,  in  unmeasured  rescripts,  the  spirit  of  Quarantotti. 

Almost  at  the  eame  moment  came  the  intelligence  of  the  disclaimer  of  the  rescript  ty 
the  authorities  in  Rome.  Cardinal  Gonsalvi,  deputed  by  the  Pope,  drew  up  and  published 
this  disclaimer,  denying  the  authority  of  Monsignor  Quarantotti  to  issue  it  ;  ami  announ 
cine  his-  dismissal,  and  that  of  his  colleagues  in  the  act. 

-The  late  venerab'e  and  much-beloved  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  Doctor  Murray-then  coat! 
'ntor  to  his  predecessor  in  the  see,  the  Most  Reveieno  Doctor  Troy-was  at  the  time  upor 
...  mission  in  Rome,  on  matters  relative  to  this  subject,  in  company  with  the  Ri^ht  Revere 

''^latter  justly-eminent  prelate  had,  as  we  have  Been,  both  byword  and  deed,  Ion* 
before  made  the  most  «ap>8  "nrt  ebwdant  amende  fi-tho  «<aar-W  pf***  into  ?*fet 


SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

oe  had  been  led  by  the  .-mrreptitioosly- published  resolves  of  the  terrified  little  meeting  of 
Irish  prelates  in  1799.    lie  had,  aa  wo  hare  also  seen,  carried  his  anxiety  to  make  repara- 
tion so  far  as  to  have  brought  upon  himself  tlxe  bitter  and  scandalously-irreverent  h. 
of  the  English  vetoisu,  but  did  not  consider  he  had  yet  done  enough.    Accordingly,  ! 
Joyfully  assented  to  the  joint  mission  lo  Rome  ;  and,  when  there,  laboured  indefatigably 
jo  undo  the  miserable  intrigues  of  which  some  of  the  high  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  in  that 
dty  had  become  the  victims. 

Meantime,  whatever  differences  ban  at  first  existed  Among  the  prelates  at  home,  as  to 
the  terms  in  which  their  rejection  of  ^uarantotti's  rescript,  aad  the  "  orrangcmtntt"  it 
Involved,  should  be  finally  made  known,  were  fact  disappearing,  as  the  Catholic  body,  led 
ty  the  clergy,  protested  more  and  more  energetically  against  the  observance  of  any  me*- 
mre  in  dealing  with  the  obnoxious  and  detestable  propositions.  The  year  1815,  on  which 
(re  are  now  entering,  saw  an  end  for  the  time  to  the  base  hopes  entertained  by  the  bitter 
tuemies  of  Irish  ecclesiastical  independence. 


MEETING  AT  LORD  FINGAL'S. 

Tu«  year  1814  closed  aioid  considerable  gloom,  in  so  far  as  related  *x>  the  political  prospects 
of  the  Catholics.  The  Board  had  been  pat  down;  and  though  some  rash  beads  had  »nsj 
gcsted  resistance  to  the  illegal  and  unconstitutional  act  of  the  Lord  Lieutenant  in  pro- 
claiming against  it,  the  wiser  leaders  declined  entering  into  what  could  bv  at  best  only  a 
bccrless  struggle  with  an  unscrupulous  aad  powerful  government,  and  might  easily  become 
one  of  sad  disaster  and  bloodshed.  <•<  thing,  however,  was  farther  from  their  minds  than 
•a  desist  from  all  exertion ;  and  the  autumn  and  winter  were  passed  by  them  in  attendee 
/neetlng*  in  the  prcviuora.  and  half-private  consultations  on  Catholic  affairs  in  Dublin. 

Their  firmness  was,  however,  sorely  tested  by  the  faint-  heartedness  of  many,  aud  th« 
false-heartedncM  of  some,  amongst  the  men  who  had  hitherto  been  prominent  with  them  in 
Catholic  affairs.  Nor  did  the  conduct  of  those  who  had  taken  on  themselves  to  be  the  patrons 
«f  the  CMholics  in  parliament  by  any  means  tend  to  lighten  the  heavy  pressure  of  impend- 
ing  difficulties.  The  unworthy  quibbling*  and  cavillings  of  these  parties— the  undeserved  and 
scinewhat  arrogant  taunts  and  reproaches  in  which  they  indulged— and,  finally,  theirmNer- 
ftble  coquetting  for  popular  applause,  after  first  wantonly  affronting  popular  opinion,  made 
the  Catholics  consider  any  assistance  derived  from  them  as  dearly  and  sorely  purchase! 
atdeed. 

The  Dublin  meetings  were  but  cf  a  few  persons  in  a  drawing-Joom  of  Lord  Fingalr resi- 
dence in  Dublin.  .  The  press  not  being  admitted,  nor,  indeed,  anything  like  general  access 
given,  they  speedily  received  a  nidtnamt,  being  designated  as  the  "  CaUtvlic  Jivan."  Mr. 
O'Counell,  however,  succeeded  in  procuring  a  mitigation  of  the  rule  of  exclusion,  dnriug 
the  brief  period  that  the  "  Divan"  survived  his  return  to  town  for  the  winter  season. 

On  the  10th  January,  1815,  at  one  of  these  little  snug  meetings  Mr.  Shiel  brought  forward 
a  long,  and,  so  far  as  language  want,  a  well-written  form  of  petition  to  be  adopted  by  the 
Catholics.  Mr.  O'Connell,  however,  took  several  objections  to  it,  and  an  animated  and 
»mewhat  sharp  discussion  ensued. 

Mr.  O'Connell «  objections  began  with  the  very  first  paragraph,  in  which  there  was  much 
juudution  of  the  "  ycnerotity  and  liberality"  of  the  British  parliament  The  exhibition,  or 
txiAtence  of  these  attributes,  he  totally  and  entirely  denied ;  and  would  oj  pose  the  petition 
if  on  this  ground  alone. 

But  far  weightier  reasons  for  objection  remained  behind.  In  a  subsequent  ptragrapb, 
Mr.  Shiel  would  have  made  the  Catholics  declare  that,  "  in  seeking  capabilities  for  constit  u 
tlonal  distinctions,  they  must  proportionally  come  within  the  sphere  of  constitutional  inrtu- 
nice  and  control,"  and  when  pressed  for  eiplar.ation  of  his  tract  meaning,  adiuttr*-  ' 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  439 

ha  meant  to  allude  to  the  power  the  government  might  acquire  by  distribution  of  patronage 
•a^g  the  Catholics. 

This  paragraph  was  indignantly  scouted  at  by  Mr.  O'Connell  and  others  present 

Another,  equally  objectionable,  met  the  same  fate.  Its  tenor  was  confessed  by  Mr.  SheH 
to  have  been  directed  towards  the  leaving  of  a  loophole  open ;  for  the  proposal,  at  some 
future  time,  of  "wcurtVy"  measures  of  one  kind  or  another. 

A  statement  that  Pitt  had  been  favourable  to  Catholic  claims,  was  flatly  contradicteu , 
and,  finally,  the  petition  as  a  whole  being  put  to  the  vote,  was  negatived,  and  Mr.  O'Con- 
nell  and  some  others  requested  to  act  on  a  committee  to  provide  a  substitute  fit  for  general 
adoption. 

On  the  17th  there  was  another  meeting  at  Lord  Fingal's. 

MR.  O'CONNELL  said  that  it  was  his  duty  to  report  to  the  sub- 
committee, to  whom  the  various  petitions  had  been  submitted. 
It  was  easy  matter  to  make  the  report,  as  it  consisted  in  the  simple 
statement,  that  they  had  rejected  all  the  petitions,  and  were  un- 
able to  agree  on  any  other.  Indeed,  there  appeared  to  be  a  radical 
and  decisive  difference  of  sentiment  between  the  members  of 
the  sub-committee,  which  evinced  itself  upon  a  point  of  vita) 
importance.  It  was  one  upon  which,  for  his  part,  he  never  couM 
make  any  concession. 

Having  failed  in  coming  to  any  agreement  on  the  subject  of  a 
petition,  the  sub-committee  directed  its  attention  to  the  other 
part  of  their  duty — the  preparing  resolutions  to  be  submitted  tc 
the  aggregate  meeting;  but  here,  in  the  very  first  step,  dissension 
was  introduced ;  although,  for  my  part  (said  Mr.  O'Connell),  I 
have  taken  every  possible  precaution  to  obviate  the  cause  of  any 
difference  of  opinion. 

The  first  resolution  which  I  have  to  propose  is  one  that  has 
been  already  four  times  adopted  ;  it  is — 

"  That  we  do  renew  our  earnest  petitions  to  the  legislature  for  the 
total  and  unqualified  repeal  of  the  penal  statutes,  which  aggrieve  and 
degrade  the  Catholics  of  Ireland." 

I  now  offer  this  resolution  to  this  meeting,  and  I  should  merely 
state,  that  it  is  one  in  which  every  individual  present,  including 
you,  my  lord,  has  publicly  and  repeatedly  concurred — that  it 
has  been  the  preface  to  all  our  petitions  since  1808.  I  should 
content  myself  with  this  statement,  but  that  my  friend,  Mr.  Sheil, 
has  already  announced  his  intention  of  opposing  this  resolution, 
unless  the  word  "unqualified"  be  omitted,  and  has  announced, 
as  if  with  effectual  authority,  that  a  new  secession  will  take 
place,  unless  we  agree  to  alter  the  language  of  our  petition  and 
resolutions.  This  object  is  plain  and  undisguised.  It  is  by 
changing  our  language  we  evince  to  the  legislature  that  our  sen- 
timents are  altered,  and  thus  most  significantly  call  on  them  to 
*  for  our  religion.  I  know  not  what,  vetoistical  arrangements. 


140  SELECT  SPKECHF8  OF 

Tf  w?  refuse,  and  refuse  we  certainly  shall,  he  has  pronounood 
Mir  punishment,  a  new  secession. 

Allow  me,  therefore,  to  justify  the  gentlemen  with  whom  1 
have  acted,  and  let  me  show  that,  if  this  resolution  creates  a  ne* 
secession,  it  will  only  betray  the  inconsistency  of  those  whc 
secede.  In  our  endeavour  to  promote  conciliation,  and  procure 
unanimity,  it  became  necessary  to  ascertain  the  causes  of  the 
secession.  I  found,  my  lord,  that  the  Catholics  had  acted  toge- 
ther until  the  summer  of  1813.  It  was  then  the  secession  com. 
menced.  The  cause  of  that  secession  was  alleged  to  be  the  in- 
troduction of  extraneous  topics — topics  unconnected  with  our 
petition.  I  have  your  express  authority,  my  lord,  in  stating 
this  to  be  the  cause  of  Recession.  We  had  all  gone  together  to  a 
certain  point ; — that  point  was  the  introduction  of  extraneous 
topics  in  1813. 

Taking,  then,  this  open  and  only  avowed  cause  of  secession,  it 
seemed  easy  to  produce  unanimity.  The  seceders  had  agreed 
with  us  upon  certain  subjects.  We  readily  consented  to  confine 
all  our  present  proceedings  to  those  subjects  on  which  all  parties 
had  before  agreed.  To  this  we  have  pledged  our  faith  :  let  us 
see  whether  a  similar  fidelity  will  be  observed  towards  us. 

The  resolution  which  I  propose  was  adopted  in  substance  in 

1 809.  In  1 81 0  we  unanimously  agreed — all  parties  agreed,  and 
published  the  resolution — 

"  That,  as  Irishmen  and  as  Catholics,  we  never  would  consent  to  any 
interference  on  the  part  of  the  Crown,  or  the  servants  of  the  Crown, 
with  the  nomination  of  our  bishops." 
You.  my  lord,  and  all  the  seceders,  went  with  us  in  1809  and  in 

1810.  In  1811,  the  identical  resolution  which  I  now  propose 
was  passed  at  an  aggregate  meeting.     You,  my  lord,  were  in  the 
chair.     It  has  the  sanction  of  your  approbation.     You  and  the 
seceders  continued  to  act  with  us.     In  1812  this  resolution  was 
vgain  passed.     You,  my  lord,  and  the  seceders  continued  to  act 
«eith  us.     This  resolution  passed  again  in  1813.     You,  my  lord, 
»nd  the  seceders  continued  to  act  with  us  for  many  months  af- 
rerwards ;  and  until  the  memorable  vote  of  thanks  to  the  bishops. 
At  all  those  times  this  resolution  passed  unanimously;  and  now, 
because  we  wish  to  repeat  the  usual  form  ;  because  we  repeat  a 
resolution  so  often  unanimously  adopted  ;  there  is  to  be  a  seces- 
•ion  again ; — that  is,  you  will  all  secede  because  we  use  your 
nwn  language  for  the  fifth  time— vuu  having  already  used  it  four 
times! 

It  is  better  to  be  manly  at  once.     Let  the  truth  be  told  :  tL* 


DANIEL  O'UO.NXELL,  ESQ.,  M. 


44  i 


acceders  were  not  candid  when  they  resolved  on  unqualified 
emancipation.  They  theu  desired  the  veto  :  they  still  desir^t 
LC  pretences  of  extraneous  topics  and  of  intemperanc^  "of 
language  belaid  aside;  let  the  fact  be  avowed:  we  will  meet 
fc  boldly.  We  are  ready  to  give  up  every  matter  of  form  ;  we 
are  ready  to  sacrifice  every  thing  except  principle.  We  most 
ardently  desire  unanimity;  but  if  the  late  seceders  will  retract 
their  words  for  the  sake  of  the  veto,  and  claim  only  a  qualifier! 
emancipation,  the  sooner  they  secede  again  the  better,  and  the 
division  must  be  perpetual ;  for  we,  at  least,  will  be  consistent 

AND  NOW,  AND  FOR  EVER,  SHALL  REJECT  ANY  PARLIAMENTARY  BOON 
FOR  THE  SACRIFICE  OP  OUR  RELIGION  AND  LIBERTY  ! 

I  do  therefore  move  the  resolution  as  unanimously  adopted 

the  Earl  of  Fiugal  in  the  chair — on  the  9th  of  July,'  1811. 

MB.  POWER,  of  county  Waterford-"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  will  not  accede  to  any 
ecclesiastical  arrangements  ?" 

MR.  O'CosfftKLL-  "Certainly.  I  mean  to  ask  for  our  emancipation  without  any  qualifi- 
cation of  our  religions  opinions." 

MR.  POWTO— "  Then  I  will  not  agree  with' your  resolution." 

EARL  Fi*o*t— "  I  agreed  to  these  meetings  on  the  supposition  of  an  honourable  unde 
standing  between  us,  that  no  religious  subject*  should  be  introduced,  but  that  we  should 
confine  ourselves  solely  to  a  petition  for  our  civil  immunities." 

MR.  O'CosxilL— "  My  lord,  that  is  exactly  what  I  wish.  I  desire  that  we  shall  receive 
emancipation  without  reference  to  our  religious  opinions,  and  without  subjecting  our  reli- 
gion to  the  control  of  a  Protestant  parliament" 

After  some  general  observations  from  several  gentlemen  on  this  part  of  the  subject, 
Mr.  SHBIL  addressed  the  meeting  at  considerable  length  against  the  introduction  of  the 
words  "  unqualified  emancipation." 

His  views,  which  may  be  gathered  from  the  statement  we  have  given  of  the  nature  ot 
the  leading  paragraphs  in  the  petition  he  lyid  seen  rejected  at  the  preceding  meeting,  were 
supported  eagerly  by  some,  and  as  warmly  opposed  by  others. 

Some  of  thOOT  who  agreed  with  Mr.  O'Connell  having  repeated  his  exhortations  to  end 
these  unpleasant  and  irritating  discussions  by  some  steps  towards  that  union  of  sentiment, 
the  want  of  which  would  paralyse  their  efforts  in  the  cause, 

MR.  SUKIL  said  it  rested  with  Mr.  O'Connell  and  his  friends  to  procure  that  union.   Won!* 

they  give  up  that  solitary  word,  "  unqualified,"  and  then  there  would  be  a  certainty  of  union  ? 

MR.  O'COIOJKIJ, — "So,  then,  the  only  chance  the  gentlemen  would  give  us  for  obtaining 

union  rests  upon  our  abandoning  a  word  which  has  been  used  at  every  Catholic  meeting 

tn  Ireland.* 

He  accordingly  entirely  refused  to  omit  the  word  so  obnoxious  to  Mr.  Sheil,  and,  soon 
after,  the  meeting  came  to  a  division,  when  there  appeared  nine  for  Mr.  O'Connell's  vie.v 
of  the  case— Messrs.  Segrave,  N.  Mahon,  M'Manus,  O'Brien,  O'Hara,  Blake,  and  Lyonfc, 
with  himself,  and  three  against  it,  viz.,  Messrs.  Shiel,  R.  M'Donnell,  and  Lube. 
Another  committee  was  then  named,  and  the  meeting  adjourned, 
On  the  21st  of  January,  Mr.  O'Connell  reported  to  a  meeting  at  Fitzpatrick's  in  Capd- 
street,  that  all  that  had  been  done  was  to  pass  a  resolution,  that  a  petition  should  be  pre- 
seatnd,  leaving  it  open  to  discussion  what  that  petition  should  b<8,  and  also  the  point  a*  t»- 
who  should  be  called  upon  to  present  it  to  parliament. 

Considerable  discussion  ensued  upon  the  latter  point,  some  being  for  agm'n  entrusting  j-. 
to  Lord  Donoughmore  in  the  Peers,  and  Mr.  Grattan  in  the  Commons,  while  others  agreed 
•*•— •  "M  Duke  of  Sussex  should  be  chosen  in  the  Lords,  and  that  in  the  Commons  >u«o* 

2F 


,   ij!  SELECT    SrKECHK.i  OF 

the  tliree  following,  viz..— Wliitbread,  Rorallly.  and  Uonier,  ought  to  be  selected,  as  roun* 
steady,  considerate,  and  kind  towards  the  Catholics,  than  their  Irbh  friends  among  tfao 
members  had  of  late  shown  themselves. 

It  was  nearly  resolved  that  the  choice  should  be  made  Mlast  mentioned,  when  Mr.  Lid- 
will,  a  Protestant  gentleman  Of  property  la  the  county  of  Tlpperary,  and  a  long  time  « 
zealous  labourer  in  the  cause,  made  a  long  and  effective  speech,  advocating  the  entrurtin* 
the  petition  to  the  same  hands  as  before. 

Those  whom  his  reasoning  did  not  con\ince,  gladly  yielded  oat  of  compliment  to  htm, 
and  withdrew  their  opposition  to  Lord  Donoughraore  and  Mr.'Grattaa. 

On  the  24th  of  January  the  following  scene  occurred  :— 

"The  aggregate  meeting  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  was  he.d  on  Tuesday  last,  in  Claren- 
don-street cbapeL 

"  Shortly  after  one  o'clock,  the  chair  wu  taken  by  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  last  monarch 
cf  Ireland,  Owen  O'Connor  (O'Conor  Don.) 

"  Lord  Flngal  appeared  at  the  meeting, 'and  was  offered  the  honour  of  sitting  In  the  chair. 
His  lordship,  however,  declined  it,  stating  that  he  did  not  conceive  the  tenor  of  the  resolu- 
tions conformable  to  the  plan  of  proceeding  laid  down  on  his  re-uniting  himself  with.th* 
6ody. 

"It  was,  he  imagined,  agreed  that  no  topic  should  be  introduced  touching  on  spiritual 
matters,  as  the  result  of  the  mission  to  Rome  bad  not  yet  been  known.  Ihe  resolutions,  a* 
fur  as  he  understood  them,  little  accorded  with  this  determination.  It  would  not  then,  he 
eonftnded,  be  doing  justice  to  hi*  own  opinions,  If  he  had  been  a  party  to  the  proposition 
or  adoption  of  those  resolutions. 

"That  he  might  be  able  to  give  this  explanation  personally,  he  obtruded  himself  on  the 
meeting.  HA  thought.  In  fact,  that  his  ncme  should  not  have  been  signed  to  a  requisition 
calling  a  meeting,  at  which  he  did  not  wish  to  act,  without  some  description  of  rrlslrHm 
menu  Oe  hoped  he  need  not  assure  the  assembly,  that  whether  he  decided  erroneously 
cr  not,  be,  at  all  events,  acted  with  good  intention.  Without  doubt,  he  could  be  most 
proud  of  the  honour  of  filling  their  cluir ;  but  h*j  could  never,  think  of  accepting  It,  If  tl* 
act  were  not  sanctioned  by  a  sense  of  what  he  owed  to  his  own  consistency 

"  After  this  there  was  a  pause  of  several  seconds,  as  all  thought  that  the  noble  lord  intended 
to  take  the  chair. 

"  At  length  Mr.  Mahon  rose,  and  in  an  address  which  did  great  credit  to  his  bead  and  his 
heart,  he  conjured  the  noble  lord  to  alter  his  opinion,  ant!  concede  to  the  unanimous  wishee 
of  the  whole  assembly. 

"  He  could  not  be  persuaded  that  there  was  anything  In  the  resolutions  which  could  claan 
with  his  lordship's  sentiments.  It  was  true  that  he  opposed  an  Intermeddling  with  spirt- 
tual  matters.  •  But,  good  God,  «dd  Mr.  Mahon,  *  what  has  a  simple  demand  of  unquali- 
fied emancipation  to  do  with  theological  controversy  r 

"  Lord  Flngal  protested  that  his  mind  was  made  up  upon  this  matter,  and  begged  that  he 
may  not  be  pressed  further.  He  was  not  wedded  to  any  particular  mode  of  emancipation 
—he  was  not  pledged  one  way  or  the  other— bat  he  thought  It  was  agreed  Chat  nothing 
should  be  said  on  questions  of  church  discipline,  until  some  official  communication  was 
had  from  Home ;  and  as  he  conceived  that  gentlemen  did  not  recognise  this  arrangement 
by  the  measures  they  proposed,  he  thought  be  was  called  upon  to  remain  neutral** 

MB.  O'CoNNKLL  said,  that  so  much  had  fallen  from  Lord  Fingai 
both  now  and  on  a  former  occasion,  respecting  a  contract  or  com- 
pact, that  as  a  party  to  the  late  proceedings,  he  felt  himself  bound 
to  make  a  few  observations  on  that  subject 

And  first  he  must  distinctly  and  emphatically  deny  that  he 
ever  was  a  party  to  any  compact  which  could  directly  or  indi- 
rectly tend  to  sanction  any  alteration  by  parliament  in  our 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P.  '  *4;l 

ecclesiastical  concerns.  He  never  heard  that  any  such  compact 
existed. 

For  my  part,  said  he,  the  understanding  which  1  conceived 
to  exist  was,  that  we  should  so  petition  parliament,  that  we 
should  not,  neither  should  the  legislature,  if  we  could  pre- 
vent them,  enter  into  any  arrangements  respecting  the  discipline 
of  our  Church  ;  but  that  we  should  either  be  emancipated,  just 
such  Catholics  as  we  are,  or  continue  in  our  present  state,  as  in 
both  religion  and  rights. 

For  this  purpose,  and  to  exclude  discussion,  I  took  up  a  reso- 
lution which  prefaced  all  our  petitions  for  seven  years  ;  a  resolu- 
tion adopted,  sanctioned,  and  confirmed  repeatedly  by  the  noble 
lord  himself.  It  was  a  resolution  to  ask  for  unqualified  emanci- 
pation. The  noble  lord  and  his  friends  immediately  dissented  ; 
they  said  that  resolution  meant  a  rejection  of  the  veto,  and  they 
insisted  it  should  be  so  altered,  and  so  modelled  as  to  strike 
out  the  word  "  unqualified,"  and  let  in  "  vetoism  ;"  and  then, 
mark  what  must  appear  a  strange  mistake,  they  most  consistently 
accused  us  of  having  started  a  discussion  upon  this  forbidden 
cubject  1 

First,  they  objected  to  the  usual  language  of  our  petitions ; 
and  then  they  accused  us  of  creating  the  discussion  which  their 
own  objection  produced  ! ! 

This  dilemma  was  immediately  produced.  We  asked  for 
unqualified  emancipation,  as  we  had  always  hitherto  done.  By 
doing  so,  said  Lord  Fingal,  you  introduce  ecclesiastical  subjects, 
and  break  the  compact.  Next,  his  lordship  would  alter  the 
usual  course,  and  ask  for  emancipation,  leaving  to,  and  thereby 
inviting,  the  parliament  to  qualify  it ;  that  is  a  direct  introduc- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  subjects,  and  the  alleged  compact  is  thereby 
plainly  broken.  So  that  this  alleged  compact  amounts  to  this — 
that,  in  either  cases,  it  must  be  violated.  There  are  but  two 
courses,  and  in  either  of  those  courses,  this  compact,  as  understood 
by  Lord  Fingal,  must  be  broken.  That  is  infallible.  If  we  use 
the  old  words,  with  the  old  meaning,  his  compact  is  broken  ;  if 
he  uses  new  words,  he  must  clearly  have  a  new  meaning,  and  then 
his  compact  is  equally  broken.  There  is  but  one  way  of  avoiding 
the  violation  of  his  lordship's  contract,  that  is,  either  by  finding 
out  words  to  use  in  our  petition,  which  have  no  meaning,  cr  to 
petition  without  using  any  words  at  all. 

Having  then  shown  how  impossible,  it  was  for  us  men,  haying 
some  small  share  of  that  acuteness  so  necessary  for  our  profession, 
to  understand  the -implied  compact  on  which  we  met,  as  his 


444  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

iOrdship  understood  it,  I  will  state  to  the  public  what  I  conceited 
was  our  agreement.  . 

We  agreed  to  abandon  all  intemperance,  though,  God  knows, 
it  is  not  easy  for  those  who  feel  for  Ireland's  wrongs  to  keep 
their  temper.  We  agreed,  first,  to  substitute  mildness  for  any 
intemperance ;  secondly,  to  forget  the  wanton  attacks  of  our 
enemies,  and  not  to  retort  by  any  personal  abuse ;  thirdly  to 
confine  ourselves  to  our  petition,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other 
topics  ;  and  fourthly  not  to  agitate  religious  subjects. 

The  last  point  was  the  only  one  difficult  to  be  managed. 
We  were  sure  we  had  overcome  the  difficulty,  for  we  adopted  the 
noble  lord's  own  words,  his  often  repeated  words  : — "  My  God  ! 
how  can  we  have  differed  with  him  I"  Here  are  his  own  words  ! 
Yes,  he  objects,  he  dissents,  and  he  threatens  to  secede.  Why  ? 
because  we  use  his  own  words.  By  what  ingenuity — by  -what 
magic  could  we  procure  unanimity  ?  We  sacrifice  everything. 
We  submit  to  imputations  which  I  cannot  but  say  are  unfounded, 
and  adopt  the  language  of  the  noble  lord  himself,  and  our  return 
is  a  new  dissension. 

He  who  runs  may  read  the  truth — a  purchase  of  emancipa- 
tion, AS  THE  PRICE  OP  RELIGION,  18  the  plain  object. 

It  may  be  disguised,  but  it  now  obtrudes  itself  toe  forcibly 
not  tc  be  visible  to  the  dullest  eye.  I  desire  unanimity,  I  have 
endeavoured  to  obtain  it,  but  I  now  disclaim  it  for  ever,  IP  IT  BF 

NOT  TO  BB  HAD  WITHOUT  THIS  CONCESSION. 

/  unit  for  ever  divide  with  the  men  who,  directly  or  indirectly, 
consent  to  VETOISM  OF  ANT  DESCRIPTION. 

After  this  distinct  avowal,  will  the  noble  lord  be  pleased  to 
accept  the  chair  1  Let  him  only  recollect,  that  he  is  most  impor- 
tant, most  valuable,  whilst  he  remains  at  his  natural  post — the 
head  of  the  Catholics.  But  if  he  choose  to  give  our  enemies  this 
triumph,  let  him  refuse,  and,  although  we  know  his  value,  an/i 
shall  regret  his  refusal,  the  Irish  Catholic  people  are  too  great  to 
feel  the  loss. 

Lord  Flngal  declared  himself  distressed  at  being  obliged  to  declare  that  he  would 
*»trape  his  own  feelings  if  he  consented  to  take  the  chair,  under  all  the  circumstances  ol 
fiie  case.  He  did  not  presume  to  say  he  waa  right,  bat  h*  could  cot  surmount  the  difflcul 
ties  which  his  opinions  had  thrown  in  bis  way. 

Lord  Fingal  departed  from  the  a«e«mbly.  and  the  O'Conor  Don  rwmained,  therefore, 
in  the  chair.  A  letter  was  read  from  Lord  Donoughmore,  the  tone  and  sentiments  of  wKJd 
met  high  approbation. 

Some  other  gentlemea  htMng  spoken,  Mr.  Udwill  (before  mentioned)  roee  and  d*ii.-»pw6 
a  rery  able  speech,  entirely  aequleedn?  in  Mr.  O'Connell's  riewa.  TCien  he  had  osmdwiM. 
Ue  latter  came  forward  to  speak  again  :— 

H«  began  by  declaring,  that  he  never  addrew^d  wij  auditory 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL,  ESQ.,  u.p.  •  445 

with  so  much  depression  of  heart.  He  felt  chilled  to  the  verv 
jcml  at  the  mournful  contrast  this  day  exhibited  between  the 
Protestant  and  the  Catholic.  The  Protestant  gentleman  who 
had  just  spoken,  the  Protestant  nobleman  whose  letter  had  been 
read,  were  both  deeply  anxious  for  the  character  and  liberty  oi 
the  Catholics— whilst  the  Catholic  nobleman  coldly  departed 
from  the  cause  oPhis  children  and  his  country,  because  his  fel, 
low-labourers  would  not  consent  to  that  which  Lord  Donou<*h- 
more  so  gently  called  a  degrading  stipulation! 

But  the  mental  inferiority  of  the  Catholics  was  easily  ac- 
counted for — they  are  slaves.  The  Protestant  superiority  was 
easily  traced  to  the  share  which  he  had  in  the  British  constitu- 
tion. Whilst  the  Catholic  crouched  in  thraldom,  the  Protestant 
tasted  the  air  of  freodou.,  and  his  mind  acquired  the  energy  and 
elevation  which  liberty  alone  can  bestow ! 

This  was  a  source  of  many  a  bitter  reflection ;  the  scene  that 
had  taken  place  there  that  day,  the  new  dissension  announced 
and  carried  into  effect,  the  war  proclaimed  against  Ireland  and 
her  people — all  conspired  to  weigh  him  down  with  sorrow.  Yet, 
there  does  (said  he)  exist  some  consolation ;  I  derive  some  com- 
fort from  these  melancholy  events.  One  of  the  two  great  objects 
I  had  in  view  has  ompletely  succeeded  ;  the  cause  of  Catholic 
division  is  now  nnaifest.  My  first  object  was  to  procure  una- 
nimity ;  that  indeed  has  failed,  after  I  had  made  every  effort  to 
attain  it,  except  the  sacrifice  of  principles.  My  second  great  ob- 
ject was,  that  if  we  were  to  remain  divided,  the  cause  of  our  di- 
vision should  be  plain,  clear,  and  simple. 

The  division,  the  secession  has  been  attributed  to  our  violence, 
our  personal  sarcasms,  our  introduction  of  extraneous  topics.  I 
myself  believed,  that  these  were,  at  least,  partly  the  real  causes ; 
but  all  these  were  cheerfully,  readily,  and  at  once  abandoned  by 
as  ;  and  the  cause  of  secession  is  now,  as  I  anxiously  desired  it 
should  be,  plain,  clear,  and  simple. 

That  cause  is  our  seeking  UNQUALIFIED  EMANCIPATION.  Here, 
now,  is  the  single  cause.  If  we  expunged  the  unqualified,  if  we 
consented  to  take  qualified  emancipation,  we  should  have  no  se- 
cession, no  division  ;  my  Lord  Fingal  would  preside  in  that 
chair ;  there  would  be  unanimity.  The  quarrel  is  reduced  to  a 
single  word— but,  certainly,  a  word  pregnant  with  meaning— 
unqualified. 

Now,  I  rejoice  that  all  the  pretences  upon  which  diyiitai  was 
justified,  have  thus  vanished.  The  truth  is  at  length  told. 
When  the  seceders  recommended  to  us  nwderalton,  the  English 


446  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

of  moderation  was  the  veto;  when  they  accused  us  of  violence, 
they  meant  that  wt  scorned  a  barter  of  our  religion!  And  when 
they  charged  us  with  " agitating  extrinsic  topics"  they  mean! 
that  we  had  too  strongly  resolved  never  to  allow  a  hostile  inter- 
ference with  our  Church.  The  secedere  have  now  thrown  off  all 
disguise,  and  though  some  of  them  may  deceive  themselves,  no 
other  honest  man  can  longer  be  the  dupe  of  their  artifices.  \\\ 
have  now  parted  with  the  seceders  on  principle,  and  unless  thej 
return  to  that  principle,  may  their  secession  be  perpetual. 

I  must  blame  the  want  of  candour  of  those  gentlemen.  Thc\ 
are  tor  qualified  emancipation.  To  qualify,  is  a  technical  word 
of  familiar  meaning.  In  Mr.  Shaw  Mason's  book,  one  worthy 
divine  boasts  he  was  so  powerful  a  theologian  in  his  youth,  that 
no  less  than  136  Papists  qualified  under  his  auspices  in  five 
years  ;  but  that  since  1778,  he  lost  his  talent  for  coutrov. 
and  not  one  Papist  could,  since  the  statute  of  that  year,  be  pro- 
vailed  on  to  qualify.  This  reverend  gentleman  is  still  living, 
and  ready  to  give  qualified  emancipation  to  all  our  seceders. 
Let  them  betake  themselves  to  him,  and  leave  us  to  seek  the 
only  emancipation  to  which,  as  Catholics,  or  as  Irishmen,  we 
will  ever  consent — UNRESTRICTED,  UNQUALIFIED,  UNCONDITIONAL. 

If  the  veto,  if  the  interference  of  the  Crown  with  our  religion, 
were  a  question  exclusively  religious,  I  should  leave  it  at  once 
to  the  bishops.  But  it  is  infinitely  interesting  as  a  political 
measure.  It  is  an  attempt  to  acquire,  without  expense,  an  in- 
fluence greater  than  any  the  minister  could  purchase  for  millions. 
Who  is  there  that  does  not  feel  the  vital,  the  pressing  danger  to 
liberty  that  results  from  ministerial  influence  1  \Veoweitto 
ourselves,  and  to  the  Protestants  equally,  to  resist  this  conta- 
gious interference  ;  and  every  duty  that  can  urge  a  man  to  a 
y ublic  disclosure  of  facts,  interesting  to  every  class  in  the  state, 
calls  on  me  to  declare  that  there  exists  a  conspiracy  against  the 
religion  of  the  Irish  Catholics,  and  in  its  efforts,  against  the  liber- 
ties of  all  the  Irish  people  ? 

I  state  it  as  a  fact,  which  I  have  from  such  authority  as  leave* 
no  doubt  in  my  mind,  that  a  negotiation  is  going  on  between 
Lord  William  Bentinck,  Lord  Castlereagh,  and  Cardinal  Gon- 
snlvi,  one  result  of  which  is  intended  by  the  two  former  to  be, 
the  concession  to  the  minister  of  the  British  crown  of  an  effec- 
tual supremacy  over  the  Catholic  Church  in  Ireland ;  and  there 
is  every  reason  to  dread  that  the  cardinal  waits  only  to  get  what 
he  considers  an  adequate  compensation,  before  he  accedes  to  tht 
BMtsure. 


DANIEL  o'CONls-ELL,  ESQ.,  M.?. 


The  restoration  of  part  of  the  Pope's  territories,  still  withheld, 
is  said  to  be  the  price  offered  by  Lord  Castlereagh ;  but  it  is  not 
so  clear  that  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  *iake  the  payment.  Be 
sides,  I  do  not  think  so  unworthily  of  the  Pope,  as  to  believe 
easily  that  he  who  resisted  the  favour  of  Napoleon  will  yield  to 
the  seductions  of  Lord  Castlereagh. 

The  danger,  however,  appears  much  increased,  when  we  recol- 
lect the  exaggerated  praises  of  England  contained  in  the  letter 
from  our  prelates  to  the  Pope.  Can  his  holiness  doubt  the  sin- 
cerity of  our  prelates  ?  I  know  they  regarded  that  passage  as 
the  unmeaning  language  of  compliment ;  and  if  they  had  con- 
sidered it  as  a  serious -assertion  of  fact,  they  would  have  died 
before  they  signed  it.  But.  indeed,  the  lightness  with  which 
such  language  was  used  by  them  increases  much  our  peril ;  as 
it  must  inspire  the  Pope  with  that  confidence  in  the  English 
government  which  he  ought  not  to  have.  This  danger,  too,  is 
still  augmented  when  we  see  the  plain  proof  of  the  existence  of 
this  conspiracy  amongst  ourselves.  It  can  be  defeated  only  by 
vigilance,  activity,  and  the  animated  and  loud  expression  of  our 
abhorrence  of  the  proposed  measure. 

Let  our  determination  never  to  assent  reach  Rome.  It  can 
easily  be  transmitted  there  ;  but  even  should  it  fail,  I  am  still 
determined  to  resist.  I  am  sincerely  a  Catholic,  but  I  am  not 
a  Papist  I  deny  the  doctrine  that  the  Pope  has  any  temporal 
authority,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  Ireland;  we  have  all  denied 
that  authority  on  oath,  and  we  would  die  to  resist  it.  He  can- 
not therefore,  be  any  party  to  the  act  of  parliament  we  solicit, 
nor  shall  any  act  of  parliament  regulate  our  faith  or  conscience 

In  spiritual  matters,  too.  the  authority  of  the  Pope  is  limited; 
ti»  cannot,  although  his  conclave  of  Cardinals  were  to  join  him, 
vary  our  religion,  either  in  doctrine  or  in  essential  discipline,  in 
In™^ct.  Even  in  non-essential  discipline  the  Pope  .cannot 
vary  U  without  the  assent  of  the  Irish  Catholic  bishop,  Why 
to  this  hour,  the  discipline  of  the  general  Council  of  Trent  i »  not 
received  in  this  diocese.  I  do,  therefore,  totally  deny  that  Gon- 
^alvi  or  Quarantotti,  or  even  the  Pope  himself,  can  claim  th< 
^mission  which  the  seceders  proclaim  gW^| 


448  SELECT  SPEECHES  or 

committed  to  their  care,  which  commenced  with  the  first,  and  is 
destined  to  continue  immutable,  to  the  second  coming  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer ! 

Yes ;  as  our  former  prelates  met  persecution  and  death  witL 
out  faltering,  the  bishops  of  the  present  day  will  triumph  ovei 
the  treachery  of  base-minded  Catholics,  and  insidious  ministers 
of  government ! 

Even  should  any  of  our  prelates  fail,  which  I  do  not  and  can- 
not believe,  there  is  still  resource.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  un- 
alterable constancy  of  the  Catholic  people  of  Ireland.  If  the 
present  clergy  shall  descend  from  the  high  station  they  hold,  to 
become  the  vile  slaves  of  the  clerks  of  the  Castle — a  thing  I  be- 
lieve impossible — but  should  it  occur,  I  warn  them  in  time  to 
look  to  their  masters  for  their  support ;  for  the  people  will  de- 
spise them  too  much  to  contribute.  (Great  applause  followed 
this  sentiment.) 

The  people  would  imitate  their  forefathers ;  they  would  com- 
municate only  with  some  holy  priest  who  never  bowed  to  the 
Dagon  of  power ;  and  the  Castle  clergy  would  preach  to  still 
thinner  numbers  than  attend  in  Munster  or  in  Connaught  the 
reverend  gentlemen  of  the  present  Established  Church. 

Those  are  evils  which  we  shall  never  witness.  It  would  be 
preposterous  folly  in  any  statesman  to  grant  an  emancipation, 
which,  instead  of  conciliating  and  quieting,  would  only  alienate 
and  disgust  still  more  the  minds  of  the  people.  Indeed  such  an 
emancipation  could  be  thought  of  only  in  this  age  of  deliverance. 
At  present  there  was  a  rage  for  delivery  ;  every  thing  and  every 
body,  except  poor  Johanna  Southcote,  was  delivered.  Spain  was 
delivered  to  the  beloved  Ferdinand  and  the  odious  inquisition  ; 
Saxony  was  delivered  to  the  King  of  Prussia ;  the  faithful  Poles 
*rere  delivered  to  the  magnanimous  Alexander  ;  and  Catholic  Ire- 
land 5s  to  be  delivered  to  Duigenan,  Saurin,  and  Peel ! ! ! 

The  process  by  which  this  last  deliverance  is  to  be  effectuated 
is  various,  according  to  the  tempers  of  the  deliverers.  There  is 
a  Scotch  plan — an  English  plan — aud  the  old  Irith  plan.  The 
Scotch  plan  has  been  announced  by  the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  and  some 
other  worthies  of  Edinburgh,  in  advertisements  containing  the 
most  insulting  calumnies.  That  earl  and  his  associates  proposed 
to  deliver  the  "  wild  Irish"  by  a  plan  of  "  education  ;n  and  in 
order  that  such  a  plan  should  infallibly  succeed,  the  earl  mag- 
nanimously subscribed  half-a-guiuea  to  carry  it  into  effect 
i  laughter). 

The  English  plan  was  still  a  wiser  one ;  they  formed  mis- 


•  J  ANIEL  O-CONNELL,  ESQ.,  M.P  443 

•nonary  societies  ;  they  had  a  mission  to  the  islands  of  the  South 
Sea  ;  they  had,  as  the  perfection  of  human  absurdity,  a  mis^on 
to  convert  the  Jews  ;  and  they  have  lately  established  a  mission 
to  convert  the  idolaters  in  Ireland  ! 

But,  notwithstanding  the  prudence  of  the  Scotch,  and  tiir 
boasted  wisdom  of  the  English,  their  plans  have  totally  failed. 
The  only  efficient  plan  was  the  old  Irish  one  !  It  was  simple  as 
it  was  effectual ;  it  consisted  merely  in  dissension  ;  its  only  opera- 
tioii  was  to  divide  the  people,  and  success  was  the  certain  result. 
It  had  been  successful  for  more  than  seven  hundred  years  in  Ire- 
land. Irish  dissension  had  hurled  your  ancestors,  Sir,  from  a 
throne  ;  it  had  reduced  the  chieftains  and  lords  of  the  soil  to  the 
state  of  vassals  and  slaves,  and  it  continued  their  descendants 
the  inferiors,  in  this,  their  own — their  native  land,  of  every  fo- 
reigner that  would  perform  the  only  condition  required — the 
swearing  that  the  religion  of  Ireland  was  idolatry.  This  fatal 
dissension  was  never  to  end — nay,  it  was  proclaimed  anew  ;  and 
this  very  day  the  Earl  of  Fingal  commenced  a  new  secession. 

(Here  the  Chairman  interrupted  by  saying,  that  he  was  quite 
convinced,  that  whatever  Lord  Fingal's  conduct  might  be,  his 
motives  were  pure). 

MR.  O'CoNXELL  resumed — I  attributed  no  motives  at  all  to 
the  noble  lord.  I  merely  stated  a  fact ;  and  in  his  absence,  as 
I  could  not  discover  any  thing  in  his  motives  to  praise,  I  should 
think  it  quite  unfair  to  censure.  I  stated  the  fact  that  my  Lord 
Fingal  has  again  seceded  from  us.  It  is  a  melancholy  thing  to 
see  those  wretched  divisions  perpetuated  ;  it  is  melancholy  that 
tiie  few  will  not  submit  their  judgment,  upon  matters  of  form 
at  least,  to  the  many — for  it  is  a  matter  of  form  that  has  taken 
from  us  the  noble  lord  ;  because  he,  too,  could  accept,  without 
violating  any  principle,  unqualified  emancipation. 

I  know  we  are  threatened  with  a  renewal  of  the  scenes  of  1792  ; 
but  the  men  who  would  now  contend  against  unqualified  liberty 
will  never  again  muster  sixty-eight ;  they  may  muster  some  soli- 
tary  dozen,  but,  perhaps,  not  so  many.  The  noble  lord,  respected 
as  he  is  in  private  life,  when  he  retired  from  this  meeting,  took 
with  him  just  the  number  of  Falstaff's  recruits— only  three  and 
a-half—  (laughter)— and  what  are  three  and  a-half  in  contrast 
with  five  millions  ? 

Apathy  and  indifference  can  alone  injure  a  cause  sustained 
by  the  wants  and  wishes  of  a  people.  Indifference  in  this  case 
is  a  crime— apathy  is  sacrilege.  There  exists  abroad  a  conspiracy 
iiist  your  religion  and  liberties  ;  at  home,  beware  of  treachery. 


450  SELECT    SPEECHES  OF  , 

Let  us  recollect  that  our  pursuit  is  a  real  not  a  fictitious  free- 
dom— that  our  objects  are  not  the  paltry  and  personal  emolu- 
ments of  place  and  power,  but  liberty  for  our  country  and  our 
posterity. 

Let  us  ask  this  blessing  as  Catholics  ;  and  spu  rn  it  if  offered 
in  any  other  form.  Dissension,  which  weakens  our  strength, 
should  increase  our  zeal  and  exertions.  I  now  confidently  call 
on  every  man  who  refuses  to  enter  into  a  base  traffic  of  his  re- 
ligion for  place  or  power,  to  come  forward  in  this  cause  ;  and  I 
feel  and  know,  that  throughout  the  land  the  voice  of  the  people 
will  be  heard — the  compromisers  will  sink  into  insignificance — 
and  WE  SHALL  HAVE  THE  GLORY  OF  ACHIEVING  OUR  LIBERTIES, 

WITHOUT  FORSAKING  THE  WORSHIP  OF  OUR  FATHERS  !"' 

At  upon  this  occasion,  so  throughout  the  many  similar  Juncture*  of  his  eventful  caree 
Mr.  O'Conncll  showed  that  he,  however  anxiously,  earnestly,  and  unwcaringly  he  could 
and  did  labour  to  put  an  end  to  distensions,  and  bring  conflicting  parties  in  the  popular 
body  to  at  least  an  outward  unanimity,  sufficient  to  prevent  interruption  or  damage  to  the 
common  cause,  he  never  allowed  his  anxiety  for  this  end  to  carry  him  too  far ;  but  boldly 
met  the  ditBculty  in  front,  and  quelled  it  with  a  firm  hand,  when  milder  measures  had  not 
barn  successful. 


THE  CATHOLIC  ASSOCIATION.' 

We  now  come  to  the  formation  a  "  Catholic  Auodation,"  thus  announced  in  the  journals 
el  the  day  :— 

"There  was  a  meeting  in  Co  pel -street  on  Saturday,  and  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
and  opulent  members  of  the  Catholic  community  proceeded  to  act  upon  the  resolution 
passed  at  the  aggregate  meeting,  which  declares  the  necessity  of  forming  some  association 
to  undertake  the  management  of  such  petitions  or  appeals  to  the  legislature  as  may  be 
demanded  by  the  continuance  of  the  disqualifications  which  still  so  grievously  harass  the 
body  at  large. 

*•  The  ceremony  of  organization  was  very  simple,  and  we  trust  folly  consistent  with 
every  real  or  imaginary  provision  of  the  Convention  Act  No  chair  was  taken— no  propo- 
sition submitted— no  instructions  offered— no  tpteen^catton  even  indulged  in ;  bat  every 
gentleman  who  choose  entered  bis  name  in  a  book,  which  Mr.  Secretary  Hay  held  upon 
(and  will  continue  to  keep  open  from  eleven  till  three  each  day  j  and  ttie  rites  and  so 
leninities  of  Installation  were  then  complete  and  ended. 
•  "The  first  meeting  of  the  Aasodation  will,  we  understand,  take  place  on  Saturday." 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  this  new  body  was  to  appoint  a  committee  to  take  certain  steps 
relative  to  the  "Veto"  question,  which  will  be  beat  described  in  the  following  report,  pro 
sented  by  them  to  the  Association,  at  its  meeting  on  Thursday  JCth  February,  1815  •.— 

REPORT  OF  THE 
COMMITTEE  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  ASSOCIATION. 

Appointed  February  Utii,  1816,  to  vail  upon  the  J/.-H  Rev.  Doctor  Murray,  in  order  to 
atctrtain  from  him  the  fartt  respecting  any  IMM*S*M  that  hat  entted,  or  doet  «•<*«, 
rttpecting  any  arrangement  o/ Catholic  dadptine  in  Ireland,  at  sMSJiifi.f  vith  the  Crown, 
or  the  minuter*  qfthe  Croun, 

M  The  Most  Reverend  Doctor  MURRAY,  having  appointed  the  hour  of  three  o'clock  m  tbf 
afternoon  of  Wednesday,  Ifth  February,  as  the  most  convenient  hour  for  meeting  the  tlept 


DANIEL  O'CONNELL   ESQ.,  M.P.  45* 

tnf.on  of  the  Catholic  Association,  your  committee  waited  upon  his  grace  accordingly  at 
the  aPP°inled  k™r_lease(1  to  open  the  interview  by  stating  that  he  had  received  tlie  letter 
,an  Owen  O'Conor,  Esq.,  intimating  the  objects  of  the  deputation ;  that  he 
8 „,.  ;,,f,ir,v,Qtirm  in  his  tinwprt  at  the  same  time  that  he  lea 


of  the  chaiman  Owen  O'Conor,  Esq.,  intimating  the  obects  o       e    epuaion ; 
wXJ^SSXtion  to  give  any  information  in  his  power;  at  the  same  time  that  he  fell 
Sn'To  ob  erve,  that  he  could  not  admit  that  the  Catholic  Association  could  dam: 
hi ,  SSJSSnS  5SS  their  desire  as  a  matter  of  right,  or  that  they  possessed  any  authority 


negotiations  in  1799. 
"To  this  your  commit e  assented.  delegate  from  the  Irish  prelates 

conrlctton  that  the  opinions  ofJh*V8Se^that  when  the  opinion  of  the  council  should 


452  SELECT  SPEECHES  OP 

44  Your  committee  farther  prayed  his  grace  to  inform  them,  whether  Cardinal  Gonsalrj 
.'uul  been  authorised  by  his  holiness  to  confer  or  negotiate  with  Lord  Castlereagh  oc  the 
wkj set  of  the  rescript  His  grace  observed,  that  he  could  not  answer  xor  tuc  ti 
falsehood  of  every  rumour ;  he  felt  certain,  however,  that  if  any  such  instruction*  wer» 
given  to  Cardinal  GonwtM,  he  must  have  been  limited  by  certain  defined  principles,  which 
L*  <r>old  not  violate  or  trespass  upon ;  and  that  any  measures  resolved  on  between  him 
and  any  English  minister  would  be  ultimately  submitted  to  the  decision  of  his  holiness, 
•v*v?  v/ould  be  influence*!  in  that  decision  solely  by  spiritual  considerations,  which  woa'.u 
cot  be  effected  by  any  opiniuna  or  desires  of  the  British  minister,  or  by  any  other  temporal 
afnnce. 

*  Tsar  committee  expressed  unaffected  re.uctance  in  intruding  ao  long  upon  his^racq 
vho  wt*»  i.lcased  to  assure  your  committee,  in  the  most  gracious  and  confidential  ferui*, 
t::»t  he  felt  sincere  pleasure  in  communicating  any  information  in  his  power  to  the 
Catholic  body ;  and  the  more  particularly  as  it  was  not  probable  that  there  would  be  a 
meeting  of  the  prelates  at  an  early  period.  His  grace  concluded  by  assuring  your  com- 
mittee that  he  would  be  always  ready  to  communicate  such  information  as  h«  may  pos- 
oess  on  any  other  subject  upon  which  the  Catholic  body  would  please  to  consult  him. 

"  Your  committee  cannot  conclude  their  report  without  recording  their  testimony  of  the 
very  kind  and  courteous  language  and  deportment  of  his  grace  during  the  mhoie  of  tueir 
interview;  and  further,  they  deem  it  their  duty  humbly  to  suggest,  that  his  grace  is  pre- 
eminently entitled  to  the  thanks  and  gratitude  of  his  Catholic  countrymen,  for  the  readi. 
ness  which  he  evinced  in  meeting  the  desires  of  this  Association." 

"Thursday,  16th  June,  there  was  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  held 
at  Clarendon-street  chapel.  At  one  o'clock  the  chair  was  taken,  at  the  universal  call  of 
the  meeting,  by  Owen  O'Conor,  Esq.  The  chairman  opened  the  proceedings  of  the  day,  by 
stating,  that  in  consequence  of  the  resolution  to  that  effect  passed  at  the  late  aggregate 
meeting,  he  had  solicited  an  answer  from  Lord  Donoughmore  and  Mr.  Grattan,  to  the 
question  accompanying  the  petition  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland." 

The  letter  of  Lord  Donoughmore  was  couched  in  terms  that  demonstrated  a  great  anxiety 
to  meet  the  wishes  and  forward  the  views  of  the  Catholics. 

Mr.  Grattan's  letter  was,  unfortunately,  not  of  the  same  tenor,  as  will  be  fathered  from 
the  ipeech  we  are  about  to  give.  No  circumstance  could  have  given  Mr.  O'Connell  more 
severe  pain  than  to  find  himself  compelled  to  speak  with  censure  of  such  a  man  as  Henry 
Grattan.  But  the  Catholic  body  should  be  vindicated  at  all  hazards  and  all  cost 

MR.  O'CONNELL  rose,  and  begged  leave  to  read  to  the  meeting 
a  second  time,  the  letter  from  the  chairman  to  Mr.  Grattan,  and 
the  reply  of  Mr.  Grattan.  He  then  spoke  to  the  following  effect : — . 
I  have,  said  he,  a  painful  duty  to  perform ;  but  it  is  my  duty 
and  I  shall  not  shrink  from  the  performance  of  it,  however  pain- 
ful. The  course  to  be  pursued  is  sufficiently  obvious ;  and  it  is 
necessary  to  recapitulate  the  facts,  merely  to  place  beyond  any 
cavil  the  propriety  of  those  measures  which  the  honour  as  well 
as  the  interests  of  the  Catholic  body  demand. 

Mr.  Grattan  took  charge  of  our  petition  last  year  ;  he  presented 
it  to  the  house,  but  he  refused  to  discuss  its  merits.  No  reason 
waa  given  for  this  refusal,  other  than  the  reason  that  silences, 
though  it  cannot  satisfy,  the  slaves  of  despots.  It  consisted 
aiugly  of  the  phrase  "  Stttpro  ratione  voluntas"  We  were  deeply 
impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  discussion  of  our  griev- 
ances and  claims  in  the  last  session — indeed,  every  session,  could 
produce  nothing  but  advantages.  Our  cause  is  founded  on  eter- 
nal justice  and  plain  right ;  therefore,  so  long  as  there  remains 


O'OONNEIA,  ESQ.,  M.F. 


one  ^article  of  common  sense  amongst  men,  discussion  must  ad- 
vanc*  that  cause.  The  Catholic  Board  called  on  Mr.  Grattan  to 
brn*  forward  our  question  ;  he  again  refused.  The  Board  a 
BecoSd  time  entreated  of  him  to  do  so;  he  once  more  refused. 
We  then  called  another  aggregate  meeting,  and  that  meeting  re- 
quested from  Mr.  Grattan  a  discussion.  Strange  to  say,  he  stili 
persevered  in  his  refusal—  a  perseverance  unexampled  m  the  his- 
tory of  parliament. 

It  must  be  recollected  that  this  unrelenting  refusal  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  Grattan  to  move  on  our  petition,  was  one  adopted  VXA- 
out  any  consultation  or  concert  with  our  best  friends  Lord 
Donoughmore  was  in  London,  and  yet  he  was  not  consulted.  It 
was  determined  by  Mr.  Grattan  to  postpone  as  long  as  he  could., 
to  one  session,  any  chance  of  relief;  and  he  came  to  this  reso- 
lution without  the  advice,  or  even  the  knowledge  of  our  other 
chosen  advocate  Lord  Donoughmore.  Thus,  without  concert, 
Sit  ^ration,  we  were  doomed  by  Mr.  Grattan  to  ano  her 
W  of  slavery,  and  also  without  the  poor  pleasure  of  rattling 

™ 


the  House  of  Commons  You  offered 


him  your  petition  upon  tis  con         , 

discuss  your  P^088  *?±C  "'teiMts  your  petition.     You 
any  such  agreement.     H^e^hm.    Vhe  Catholic  people 
,  indeed  «  W  ekness  seek  another  blow. 


Mr.  * 


W  SELECT  SPEECHES  OF 

sent  your  petition.     lie  has  taken  his  high  station  ;  ho  will 
neither  descend  nor  bend. 

It  remains  for  us  to  seek  another  advocate — an  advocate  less 
brilliant  in  eloquence,  but  more  suited  to  our  views  and  wishes. 
At  this  period  it  is  doubly  incumbent  on  us  to  make  a  prudent 
choice.  Mr.  Grattan  differs  from  us  on  the  veto.  He  assented 
to  Canning's  clauses,  though  he  did  not  introduce  them.  If  he 
had  accepted  our  petition,  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  give 
him  information  of  the  disgust  and  abhorrence  produced  by  those 
clauses.  Wo  should  owe  to  ourselves  and  our  religion,  emphati- 
cally to  announce  the  detestation  in  which  we  hold  any  inter- 
meddling with  our  Church.  This  and  more  would  be  neftrtssary, 
had  G rattan  been  our  advocate  ;  but  if  this  meeting  were  now 
to  retract,  and  to  abandon  their  own  judgment,  and  to  select  Mr. 
Grattan,  notwithstanding  his  letter,  the  consequences  are  obvious, 
lie  would  refuse  to  receive  any  suggestions  whatsoever  ;  and 
then  you  who  desire  unqualified  emancipation,  would  have  your 
advocate  calling,  in  your  name,  for  an  emancipation  which,  in 
your  judgment,  would  only  increase  your  slavery. 

Good  God !  oar  any  man  imagine  that  Mr.  Grattan  would 
Hud  it  possible  to  listen  to  us  upon  these  matters  of  importance, 
when  he  declare*  it  impossible  to  answer  us  upon  a  mere  ques- 
tion of  time  1  The  question  we  put  to  him  was  as  simple  as, 
•'  What  is  it.  o'clock  T— his  reply,  •'  It  is  impossible  for  mo  to 
Answer  !"  Well,  if  he  cannot  condescend  to  answer  as  to  the 
hour  of  the  day,  what  prospect  is  their  of  his  being  able  to  reply 
t  •  more  weighty  questions?  In  short,  he  has  taken  his  stand  ; 
he  will  answer  no  questions  ;  ho  will  receive  no  instructions  ;  he 
rejects  all  blip  illations ;  and  he  disclaims  the  condition  upon 
which  you  offered,  and  the  Earl  of  Donoughmore  accepted,  your 
petition. 

There  cannot,  therefore,  be  found  in  this  crowded  assembly 
any  Catholic  sufficiently  hardy  to  propose  that  we  should  retract, 
and  again  offer  our  petition  without  a  condition.  (A  general 
try  of  "  no,  no  !"  for  many  minutes.)  1  know  that  no  person 
would  hazard  such  a  proposition,  whatever  powers  of  effrontery 
he  may  possess ;  nor  do  I  accuse  any  man  of  entertaining  such 
MI  idea. 

You  must  have  a  new  selection  made ;  you  must  have  a  man 
selected  who  will  consent  to  lay  your  grievances  before  parlia 
nent  this  session  ;  who  will  consent  to  receive  your  instructions; 
who,  in  short,  will  seek  to  obtain  for  the  Catholics  of  Ireland 
that  which  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  deserve,  and  not  get  up  a 


DANIEL  o'COKNELt   ESQ.,  M.P.  4-55 

plan  of  his  own,  in  which  he  may  be  the  principal  figure,  raid 
the  Catholics  secondary  objects. 

The  advocate  we  want  is  a  man  who  will  require  from  parlia- 
ment an  emancipation  that  would  quiet  and  content  the  people 
of  Ireland,  and  extinguish  the  heart-burnings  and  animosities 
which  at  present  rage  in  this  country  —  not  an  emancipation 
whicb  would  create  more  jealousy  and  disaffection,  and  embitter 
our  feuds,  and  increase  our  rancorous  hostility  to  each  other  :  — 
an  advocate,  in  fine,  who  would,  from  his  heart  prefer  the  eman- 
cipation of  Ireland  to  the  emancipation  of  Mr.  Grattan  and  Mr. 
Canning.  Such  is  the  advocate  we  want  ;  and  such  an  advocatu 
may,  I  know,  be  found  ;  but  alas  1  we  must,  I  much  fear,  go  tc 
England  to  seek  for  him.  We  must  seek  for  an  Englishman, 
for  I  know  of  no  Irish  member  to  whom  you  can  now  commit 
your  petition. 

Let  me  not  be  taunted  with  this  preference.  I  do  not  prefer 
an  Englishman  as  such.  Oh,  no  !  My  preference  and  my  pre- 
judices are  altogether  Irish.  My  heart,  my  soul,  my  feelings 
are  all  —  all  Irish.  My  patriotism  is  almost  exclusively  Irish  ; 
and  I  remember  the  wrongs  England  has  inflicted  on  my  wretched 
country,  with  a  hatred  doomed  to  be  immortal  and  unrelenting. 
But  there  is  now  no  choice.  Ireland  was,  in  the  last  session, 
abandoned  by  all  the  Irish  members.  She  was  flung  at  the  feet 
c,f  Peel,  to  insult  and  to  trample  upon  her  as  he,  in  his  majestic 
forbearance  and  wisdom,  should  think  fit  ;  and,  lastly,  our  Irish 
patriots  have  found  out  that  he  is  an  Alfred—  nothing  less  ! 
(Much  laughing.) 

Oh,  it  is  sorrowful  mirth  ;  but  this  is  true  ;  Ireland  was  defended 
only  by  Englishmen.  There  remained  amongst  them  the  still 
unextinguishable  flame  of  liberty,  and  they  made  a  generous 
effort  to  protect  Ireland.  May  the  best  blessings  of  heaven  be 
poured  upon  them.  Whitbread,  and  Herner,  and  Romilly,  and 
Grant,  and  others,  fought  for  Ireland.  We  will  find  amongst 
them  an  advocate  suited  to  our  purpose  ;  the  cause  and  the 
principle  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  will  n«ver  be  scorned  by 

tlTcannot  conclude  without  deprecating  any  declamation  on 
tao  merits  of  Mr.  Grattan.     No  man  can  be  more  sensible  :. 


,  GnUan  ttruggled  andjouatijor 


i.">6  SELECT    SPEECHES  OF  DAXIEL  O'COJTCELL,  ESQ.,   M.I'. 

remained.     I  know  all  this,  and  mo/re  :  and  my  gratitude 
enthusiasm  for  those  services  will  never  bo  extinguished. 

But  I  know,  too,  that,  to  use  his  own  phrase  of  another,  uho 
sv*as  an  oak  of  the  forest,  too  old  to  be  transplanted." 

I  see  with  regret,  that  except  his  services  in  our  cause,  he  bus, 
since  the  Union,  made  no  exertions  worthy  of  his  name  and  of 
his  strength.  Since  ho  has  inhaled  the  foul  and  corrupt  atmo- 
sphere that  fills  some  of  the  avenues  to  Westminster,  there  have 
not  been  the  same  health  and  vigour  about  him.  He  seems  to 
have  forgotten  his  ancient  adorations.  He  supported  the  Insur- 
rection Bill,  and  every  future  Peel  has  the  authority  of  his 
name  to  aid  in  outlawing  Ipeland.  He  accused  his  fallen  coun- 
trymen of  cherishing  a  French  party.  Alas  !  he  ought  to  have 
distinguished  between  the  strong  anti-Anglican  spirit  which  cen- 
turies  of  oppressive  government  created  and  fostered,  and  any 
attachment  to  the  enemy  of  freedom.  The  very  party  whcm 
he  was  induced  to  traduce,  hated  despotism  as  much  in  France 
as  in  Russia  or  in  England;  and  it  assuredly  had  nothing  French 
about  it. 

But  above  all,  Mr.  Grattan  has  mingled  the  support  of  our 
cause  with  the  procuring  for  a  Protestant  ministry  the  patronage 
of  our  Church.  These  recollections  mitigate  the  sorrow  I  feel 
at  his  having  now  disclaimed  our  petition.  I  feel  for  him  un- 
feigned respect ;  but  he  has  refused  to  accept  the  petition  upon 
our  terms.  I  shall,  therefore,  move — 

'*  That  tbe  Catholic  Association  be  requested  to  send  a  delegation 
Jo  London,  in  order  to  procure  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  to 
oreseut  our  petition,  and  apply  for  unqualified  Emancipation." 

Some  members  having  interfered  to  request  a  postponement  of  the  resolution,  on  various 
grounds,  bat  chiefly  in  order  to  hare  more  time  for  considering  it,  Mr.  O'Counell  withdrew 
his  resolution,  on  the  grounds  of  an  unwillingness  to  create  a  difference  of  opinion,  anC  tbe 
rincere  wish  that  he  had  for  unanimity  ;  but  he  would  wish  that  if  It  should  be  girta  ioti 
the  hands  of  the  Association,  that  the?  should  report  to  an  aggregate  ru<cf  :fc  *:  l»  Ic.c 
on  Thursday,  the  23rd  instant 

A  resolution  was  then  pat  and  carried  to  that  effect 


1PTD  or  vo*~  L 

I 

"AW isor  .Tour  Steam -pros  Printtt.  22,  Ea  ex-«.  West  D.iblin. 


O'CONNELL,  DANIEL 


The  select  speeches  of 
Daniel  O'Connell. 


DA 

950.22 
.A38